Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) was first described in 1954 by Verbiest, followed by the currently accepted international classification of LSCS in 1976 by Arnoldi. Briefly, LSCS is a nervous system syndrome that is characterized by neural symptoms in the lower extremities due to tightened cauda equina and spinal nerve root involvement. LSCS international classification consists of: (1) deg...

To define the anatomy of the cauda equina nerve roots by MR imaging, the lower spine of 14 normal volunteers was imaged using a high-field surface-coil technique. A total of 56 sagittal and 56 axial MR sections (eight selected slices from each case) were correlated with undistorted anatomic sections from cadaver spine specimens, and the visualization of the nerve roots was assessed. In addition...

Paraganglioma affecting the cauda equina region is very rare and can be misinterpreted as an ependymoma which is more common at this site. A 38-year-old woman with a paraganglioma in the cauda equina is presented. MRI revealed a well-circumscribed, intradural, extramedullary tumor nodule with the dimensions of 2.5x1x1 cm. The patient underwent L3 laminectomy and total excision o...

Bottom Line Among adults 65 years or older who present to primary care clinicians for a new episode of back pain, early imaging (before six weeks) resulted in no improved outcomes at one year, but increased overall health care costs by almost 30%. Indications for early imaging include major risk factors for cancer, signs of cauda equina syndrome, severe neurologic deficits, and fever with a his...

A healthy man developed cauda equina syndrome after uneventful combined spinal and epidural anesthesia. No pre-existing neurologic disorder was recorded. There was no pain or paresthesia during needle placement, drug injection or catheter insertion. The sensory levels were improved within a few days following the deficit but little improvement on motor power but not on sphincter tone. Local ane...