BACKGROUND The spinal dura is anchored within the vertebral canal by connective tissue in the epidural space as well as the spinal roots. Inadvertent disruption of these dural attachments may lead to durotomy and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. We observed well-developed connective tissue ligaments connecting the lumbar dura to the spinal column and examined these tissues microscopically. ME...

Copyright © 2009 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Benign and malignant tumors of the spinal column and spinal cord are a common and costly clinical problem, causing significant morbidity. Metastatic disease to the spine is the most common presentation; approximately 160 000 new spinal metastases are diagnosed in the United States each year, resulting in considerable pain, functional imp...

Three newborn calves were affected by caudal spinal dysgenesis or agenesis (coccygeal vertebra) and persistent cloaca. The cloacas were lined by a mixture of transitional and colonic epithelium. The vertebral column of one calf was internalized into the cloaca. The association of persistent cloaca and caudal spinal anomalies is thought to be related to cell loss in the caudal cell mass, which a...

Clinical instability is an important cause of low back pain. Although there is some controversy concerning its definition, it is most widely believed that the loss of normal pattern of spinal motion causes pain and/or neurologic dysfunction. The stabilizing system of the spine may be divided into three subsystems: (1) the spinal column; (2) the spinal muscles; and (3) the neural control unit. A...

In the setting of spinal trauma, the bone, ligaments, spinal cord, and vascular structures may be injured. Anatomically, the vertebral bony spine can be divided into structural columns. The cervical spine is traditionally divided into two columns— anterior and posterior. The anterior column consists of the load-bearing vertebral bodies, intervertebral disks, anterior longitudinal ligament, and ...

Study Design Systematic review. Objective We assessed the current state of spine registries by collecting spine trauma data and assessing their compliance to defined registry standards of being clinical quality. We ascertained if these registries collected spinal cord injury data alone or with spine column trauma data. Methods A systematic review was performed using MEDLINE and Embase databases...

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of treating sequestered lumbar disc herniation (SLDH) with Feng’s spinal manipulation. Methods: 112 patients (52 males, 60 females) with SLDH were treated by Feng’s spinal manipulation. The clinical outcome was evaluated by using the JOA (Japanese Orthopaedic Association) score and Feng’s spinal assessment system for SLDH. The MRI sagittal index (SI)...

There is a growing interest in the relationship between occlusion and posture because of a greater incidence of neck and trunk pain in patients with occlusal dysfunction. The study was designed to verify whether an alteration of the spinal column alignment may be experimentally induced in rats as a consequence of altering dental occlusion and also to investigate whether the spinal column underw...

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenesis and gene/enhancer trapping are effective approaches for identification of genetically defined neuronal populations in the central nervous system (CNS). Here, we applied these techniques to zebrafish (Danio rerio) in order to obtain insights into the cellular architecture of the axial motor column in vertebrates. First, by using the BAC for the ...