Introduction Arachnoiditis is an inflammatory condition of the arachnoid mater, leading to thickened leptomeninges and neurological symptoms in many cases. Ninety percent of patients with arachnoiditis experience a burning type pain. The most common location of spinal arachnoiditis is the…
Introduction Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) refers to the clinical condition produced by excessive tension of the spinal cord, with its caudal part anchored by inelastic structures that restrict its vertical movement. Inelastic structures include adipose filum terminale, tumor, myelomeningoceles, lipomyelomeningoceles,…
Introduction As described in Chapter 67 , Chiari I malformation is a condition derived from the abnormal caudal displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum into the upper cervical canal, often with intramedullary cyst formation. Surgical treatment is…
Introduction Chiari malformations represent a class of posterior fossa disorders that stem from congenital abnormalities. The Chiari I malformation is the most common type, characterized by tonsillar descent that may or may not be associated with syringomyelia. The overall prevalence…
Introduction Hemangioblastoma of the spine is an infrequent, benign (World Health Organization [WHO] I), and highly vascularized tumor accounting for about 3% of all intramedullary spinal tumors and 2% to 15% of all the spinal cord neoplasms. Among the intramedullary…
Introduction Cavernous malformations (CMs) rarely occur in the spinal cord and account for less than 10% of all CMs. However, since the broad use of high-resolution magnetic scans, CMs of the spinal cord are found more often and currently represent…
Introduction Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) are the most common vascular lesion of the spinal cord, and they account for 70% of all AV shunts of the spine. Type I dAVFs are defined as an abnormal intradural low flow communication…
Introduction Basilar invagination (BI) is among the common pathological conditions afflicting the cranio-cervical junction. Primary development is associated with syndromic conditions such as trisomy 21, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and Marfan syndrome; secondary development is associated with inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid…
Introduction The incidence of vertebral osteomyelitis is approximately 1 per 100,000 per year worldwide ; however, this incidence increases with age up to 6.5 per 100,000 among persons older than 70 years of age. Overall, vertebral infections represent 1% of…
Introduction Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is often caused by structural defects in the dura within the spinal canal or along the nerve root sleeve. Although rare, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) venous fistula has also been recognized recently as a cause of spontaneous…