Spinal infection frequently injures the vertebral bodies, intervertebral discs, paraspinal soft tissues, epidural space, meninges, and spinal cord. Clinically, it is notoriously difficult to differentiate spinal infection from degenerative processes, noninfective inflammatory disorders, and spinal neoplasms. Spinal infections are a…
Metabolic disorders of the spinal cord are less common than metabolic disorders of the brain and peripheral nerves. Such metabolic myelopathies can be secondary to nutritional deficiencies, especially vitamin B 12 deficiency, or to systemic metabolic disorders. VITAMIN B 12…
The skeletal manifestations of metabolic disease are a heterogeneous group of conditions resulting from endocrinopathy, vitamin deficiency, renal tubular dysfunction, and disorders of endogenous metabolism. As a group, they are characterized by altered function of the osteoblasts and osteoclasts or…
Spinal tumors comprise a large spectrum of distinct histologic entities that may arise primarily from the spinal cord (intra-axial or intramedullary space), the surrounding leptomeninges (intradural extramedullary space), or the extradural soft tissues and bony structures (extradural space). All three…
Cystic lesions of the spine are a diverse group of infectious, post-traumatic, postinterventional, and degenerative abnormalities with the common feature of a fluid collection with a wall. The cellular linings of the walls may be squamous epithelium, columnar epithelium, arachnoid…
Spinal vascular malformations are developmental derangements of the interconnections between arteries and veins, with secondary features of vascular enlargement, aneurysm and varix formation, mass effect from the enlarged vessels, excessively high flow with vascular steal and potential cardiac failure, and/or…
Spinal cord trauma is the application of excess force to the spinal cord and the consequences of that force for the cord. Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) may result from an acute blow to the spine, resulting in fracture or…
Traumatic injuries of the spinal column reflect the mechanisms that produced them. The patterns of these injuries on imaging studies, therefore, help to predict the underlying mechanisms of trauma and lead, in turn, to more complete description of the pathologic…
Spinal epidural hematoma and spinal subdural hematoma are accumulations of blood within the epidural or subdural spaces of the spinal canal or both. They may appear “spontaneously,” result from trauma, or arise secondary to coagulopathy, vascular malformation, neoplasm, or another…
Spinal cord ischemia is caused by deficient spinal arterial blood flow secondary to occlusion of intercostal/lumbar arteries or to involvement of the intrinsic arteries of the cord. It is also referred to as ischemic myelomalacia of the spinal cord. Epidemiology…