ANATOMY The spinal cord tapers to its end, the conus medullaris, usually at the lower edge of the first lumbar vertebra. The continuation of the spinal cord is a strand of connective tissue, the filum terminale. The ventral and dorsal lumbar and sacral nerve roots that arise from the conus medullaris form a bundle, the cauda equina (Figure 1). These lumbar and sacral spinal nerve roots separate...

The pathogenesis of the cauda equina syndrome of ankylosing spondylitis is unknown. The long duration between the onset of ankylosing spondylitis and neurological symptoms (average 35 years in the Mayo Clinic series') argues against a shared inflammatory cause, as does the relative normality of CSF.' 2 Matthews suggested that arterial pulsations transmitted to the CSF might produce not only the...

Although very rare, cases of cauda equina tumours migrating several levels have been known to occur. We report two cases of cauda equina schwannomas which migrated from its primary site, one caudally and the other one rostrally as confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging perioperatively. The f irst patient was a 27-year-old man and the second a 41year-old man; both presented with back pain. This...

Oral administration (80 mg/kg body wt/day for 30 days) of solasodine (extracted and isolated from the berries of the Solanum xanthocarpum) to intact dogs significantly decreased the epithelial cell height of cauda epididymides. The cells became atrophic and the lumen was devoid of spermatozoa. Castration followed by the adminstration of solasodine further reduced the epithelial cell height in c...

Pyogenic epidural abscess is a very rare disease. Once it occurs, it promptly progresses and can cause neurologic paralysis. Mean age of onset has been reported to be 57 years. Here we report making a diagnosis of pyogenic lumbar epidural abscess accompanying cauda equina syndrome in a 10-year-old girl. We treated this case successfully with surgical drainage and antibiotics. We report our case...

This case report describes a paraganglioma of the cauda equina in a 63 year old woman. Very few examples of paraganglioma have been recorded in this site. Histologically these neoplasms may have considerable similarity with ependymoma, the most common neoplasm of the lower spinal cord, and the diagnosis can be easily missed unless special techniques are employed. The clinical and pathological d...

OBJECTIVE To identify reasons for delay in management of patients with cauda equina syndrome (CES) and to determine commonly presented features of CES. METHODS Retrospectively, the presenting features and management of patients treated for CES over a 4-year period were reviewed. RESULTS Reasons for delay in treatment were identified in over half of the patients. DISCUSSION Most patients d...

Spinal and epidural blocks are widely used for cesarean section. Spinal hematoma causing cauda equina syndrome is a rare complication after spinal anesthesia (SA), but can lead to severe neurological deficit. It is usually associated with difficult SA and requires surgical decompression in most of the cases.