Although the methods of diagnosis and care for vertebral column and spinal cord injury are given in Egyptian papyri and Hippocrates writings, for a long time spinal injury with neurological disorders was considered almost a death sentence. Back in the First World War, 80% of those wounded in the spine died within the first 2 weeks. Progress in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) based on an improved understanding of its pathogenesis and the development of radically new methods of treatment was outlined only during the Second World War and in the post-war years. Today, SCI remains a severe but usually not fatal type of injury, and a significant contribution to minimizing its consequences is made by timely and adequate provision of first, qualified and specialized medical care to victims.