Fig. 1

Timeline of the study with defined study points. Green triangles indicate the time points for clinical monitoring performed at baseline and during surgery (every 5 min after epidural injection). The blue arrows indicate the time points for pain assessments, performed 1 h (T1), 3 h (T3), 6 h (T6), 12 h (T12), and 24 h (T24) after the time point at which each animal regained movement and sensation in its hind limbs (T0)