Neurological and pathological effects of second lumbar spondylectomy and spinal column shortening in the dog

✓ The second lumbar vertebra was surgically removed from 10 dogs, and the shortened vertebral column was stabilized by internal fixation with two types of plastic plates. Shortening of the spinal column was usually not associated with detectable loss of function or neurological deficit. Histological lesions, however, included widely disseminated axonal degeneration, gliosis, and atrophy of spinal nerve roots in the surgical area. The spinal cord adapted to shortening of the vertebral column by becoming intrinsically shorter, rather than by being displaced within the spinal canal.

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Hemangioma of spinal nerve root

Journal of Neurosurgery Spine ◽

10.3171/spi.1999.91.2.0175 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 91 (2) ◽

pp. 175-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Federico Roncaroli ◽

Bernd W. Scheithauer ◽

William E. Krauss

Keyword(s):

Nerve Root ◽

Cauda Equina ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Nerve Fibers ◽

Capillary Hemangioma ◽

Spinal Nerve Root ◽

Spinal Nerve Roots ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Fine Print

Object. Hemangiomas of the spinal nerve roots are rare. Only 12 cases have been reported in the literature, all since 1965. These lesions occurred in adults, primarily in males, and were located in the cauda equina. Of the 12 lesions, eight were cavernous hemangiomas. The authors report here the clinicopathological features of 10 cases of hemangioma of the spinal nerve root, nine of which were of the capillary type. Methods. The group included six men and four women who ranged in age from 40 to 62 years. The majority of patients presented with pain and weakness. One patient also experienced worsening of pain during menses. In all cases, gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography myelography demonstrated a discrete intraspinal extramedullary mass. Administration of contrast agent resulted in uniform, intense enhancement. A gross-total resection was achieved in all but one case; in most cases, it was necessary to sacrifice the parent nerve root. Preoperative symptoms and signs improved in nine cases. On histological examination, all but one tumor, a spindle-cell hemangioendothelioma, were shown to be ordinary capillary hemangiomas. Two lesions exhibited a cavernous component, and five showed a partly solid growth pattern resembling juvenile capillary hemangioma. In all cases, the relationship with the nerve root was histologically confirmed. The tumor—nerve relation varied. The intact nerve was displaced by the epineurial mass in three cases. The fascicles appeared separated in six cases, and individual nerve fibers were seen throughout one lesion with endoneurial involvement. Conclusions. Hemangiomas of spinal nerve roots pose a challenging diagnostic problem. Knowledge of their existence is relevant in that they may mimic tumors and are amenable to surgical treatment.

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Lumbosacral intersegmental epispinal axons and ectopic ventral nerve rootlets

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1987.67.2.0269 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 67 (2) ◽

pp. 269-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Wesley W. Parke ◽

Ryo Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Nerve Root ◽

Sensory Nerve ◽

Conus Medullaris ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Nerve Fibers ◽

Ventral Horn ◽

Spinal Nerve Roots ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Almost All

✓ An epispinal system of motor axons virtually covers the ventral and lateral funiculi of the human conus medullaris between the L-2 and S-2 levels. These nerve fibers apparently arise from motor cells of the ventral horn nuclei and join spinal nerve roots caudal to their level of origin. In all observed spinal cords, many of these axons converged at the cord surface and formed an irregular group of ectopic rootlets that could be visually traced to join conventional spinal nerve roots at one to several segments inferior to their original segmental level; occasional rootlets joined a dorsal nerve root. As almost all previous reports of nerve root interconnections involved only the dorsal roots and have been cited to explain a lack of an absolute segmental sensory nerve distribution, it is believed that these intersegmental motor fibers may similarly explain a more diffuse efferent distribution than has previously been suspected.

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Ultrastrutitural Pathology of an Inherited Lower Motor Neuron Disease of Pigs

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation ◽

10.1177/104063879400600215 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 230-237

Author(s):

Donal O'Toole ◽

Gerald Wells ◽

James Ingram ◽

William Cooley ◽

Stephan Hawkins

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Motor Neuron ◽

Motor Neuron Disease ◽

Peripheral Nerves ◽

Axonal Degeneration ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Spinal Nerve Roots ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Lumbar Spinal

The ultrastructural features of a recently described inherited lower motor neuron disease were studied in 5 affected pigs. Clinical signs comprised progressive ataxia and paresis of variable severity. Affected pigs, 6, 7, 15, 15, and 19 weeks of age, and 2 unrelated healthy pigs, 9 and 15 weeks of age, were anesthetized and their tissues were fixed by whole body perfusion with mixed aldehydes. From 1 or more affected pigs, samples of cervical and lumbar spinal ventral horn, lateral and ventral spinal columns, dorsal and ventral lumbar spinal nerve roots, 2 peripheral nerves (Nn. phrenicus and fibularis communis), and 2 skeletal muscles (Mm. diaphragma and tibialis cranialis) were examined ultrastructurally. There was widespread degeneration of myelinated axons in peripheral nerves and in lateral and ventral columns of lumbar and cervical segments of spinal cord. Axonal degeneration was present in ventral spinal nerve roots and was absent in dorsal spinal nerve roots sampled at the same lumbar levels. Unmyelinated axons in peripheral nerves and spinal nerve roots were unaffected. In 4 of 5 affected pigs, there were atrophic alpha motor neurons in cervical spinal cord that contained dense, round osmiophilic perikaryal inclusions up to 4 μm in diameter and round swollen mitochondria. Axonal regeneration was present in N. phrenicus of the 19-week-old affected pig that had clinical signs of longest duration (10 weeks). There was no morphologic evidence of axonal degeneration or spinal neuronal atrophy in either control pig. The ultrastructural features of this motor neuron disease distinguish it from other reported progressive spinal neuropathies of pigs.

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Meningeal-neural relations in the intervertebral foramen

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1974.40.6.0756 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 40 (6) ◽

pp. 756-763 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Sydney Sunderland

Keyword(s):

Vertebral Column ◽

Transverse Process ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Intervertebral Foramen ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Spinal Nerves ◽

Strong Attachment ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

✓ The relationship of the meninges internally to the nerve roots, posterior root ganglion, and spinal nerve, and externally to the wall of the intervertebral foramen, has been investigated. The neural structures and their coverings are not attached to the foramen. Only the fourth, fifth, and sixth cervical spinal nerves have a strong attachment to the vertebral column, and this is to the gutter of the vertebral transverse process. The observations have relevance to any local lesion that may fix, deform, or otherwise affect the nerve and nerve roots to the point of interfering with their function. They may also be important to traction injuries of nerve roots.

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Vascular and neural pathology of lumbosacral spinal stenosis

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1986.64.1.0064 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 64-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Ryo Watanabe ◽

Wesley W. Parke

Keyword(s):

Spinal Stenosis ◽

Neuronal Plasticity ◽

Cauda Equina ◽

Nerve Impulse ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Typical Case ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Rapid Changes ◽

Fine Print

✓ During a study of the intrinsic vasculature of the lumbosacral spinal nerve roots in cadavers, a typical case of spinal stenosis was encountered. A review of the antemortem anamnesis revealed that this patient had had an intermittent claudication of the cauda equina. Investigation of the concomitant vascular and histopathological alterations of the affected nerve roots suggested that the claudication may have resulted from ectopic nerve impulse discharges elicited by rapid changes in the blood supply following exertion. The unexpectedly slight apparent neural deficit relative to observed root damage may be attributed to a neuronal plasticity within the spinal cord that permitted functional compensations to develop during the slow acquisition of the chronic nerve root pathology.

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Morphology and Development of the Spine: Plea for a Doubt

Rivista di Neuroradiologia ◽

10.1177/197140099801100311 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 313-320 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Roth

Keyword(s):

Growth And Development ◽

Vertebral Column ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Developmental Period ◽

Spinal Nerve Roots ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Disc Space ◽

Axial Organ ◽

Neural Growth ◽

Vertebral Shape

Growth and development of the vertebral column cannot be understood without taking into account its closest link with the “leading” cogrowth of its neural content. The phylogenetically established degree of outgrowth of that content determines the length of individual vertebrae and of the vertebral envelope in whole. Impairment of spinal neural growth leads to neuroadaptive transformation of vertebral shape in the sense of neuroadaptive shortening. Insufficient spinal neural growth during the developmental period is paralleled by involutional atrophogenic shortening of the spinal nerve roots in the aged with essentially analogous response of the vertebral envelope, viz., profound and sometimes bizarre neuroadaptive “deformities” in the course of development, neuroadaptive “degenerative” narrowing (i.e. shortening) of the disc space(s) in the course of aging. Owing to the craniocaudally proceeding growth in length of the axial organ the neuroadaptive shortening in both instances is accomplished as though “from below”.

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Tethering of the spinal cord in mouse fetuses and neonates with spina bifida

Journal of Neurosurgery Spine ◽

10.3171/spi.2003.99.2.0206 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 99 (2) ◽

pp. 206-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Dorothea Stiefel ◽

Takashi Shibata ◽

Martin Meuli ◽

Patrick G. Duffy ◽

Andrew J. Copp

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Spina Bifida ◽

Mouse Model ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Spina Bifida Aperta ◽

Mouse Fetuses ◽

Spinal Cord Tethering ◽

Fine Print

Object. Tethering of the spinal cord is a well-known complication in humans with spina bifida aperta or occulta. Its pathogenesis consists of a pathological fixation of the spinal cord resulting in traction on the neural tissue which, in turn, leads to ischemia and progressive neurological deterioration. Although well established in humans, this phenomenon has not been described in animal models of spina bifida. Methods. A fetal mouse model with naturally occurring, genetically determined spina bifida was produced by generating double mutants between the curly tail and loop-tail mutant strains. Microdissection, labeling with 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate, immunohistochemistry for neurofilaments, H & E staining of histological sections, and whole-mount skeletal preparations were performed and comparisons made among mutant and normal fetuses. Normal fetuses exhibited the onset of progressive physiological ascent of the spinal cord from embryonic Day 15.5. Spinal cord ascent resulted, by embryonic Day 18.5, in spinal nerve roots that pass caudolaterally from the spinal cord toward the periphery. In contrast, fetuses with spina bifida exhibited spinal cord tethering that resulted, at embryonic Day 18.5, in nerve roots that run in a craniolateral direction from the spinal cord. The region of closed spinal cord immediately cranial to the spina bifida lesion exhibited marked narrowing, late in gestation, suggesting that a potentially damaging stretch force is applied to the spinal cord by the tethered spina bifida lesion. Conclusions. This mouse model provides an opportunity to study the onset and early sequelae of spinal cord tethering in spina bifida.

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Spinal extradural schwannoma

Journal of Neurosurgery Spine ◽

10.3171/spi.2005.2.4.0447 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 447-456 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Paolo Celli ◽

Giuseppe Trillò ◽

Luigi Ferrante

Keyword(s):

Nerve Root ◽

Pyramidal Tract ◽

Tumor Resection ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Cervical Region ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Nerve Sheath Tumors ◽

Nerve Sheath ◽

Fine Print

Object. The authors endeavor to define the clinical and surgery-related profile of spinal nerve sheath tumors located in the extradural space outside both the dural sac and, apparently, the nerve roots' sleeve. Methods. A series of 24 extradural schwannomas was retrospectively selected after reviewing the notes of spinal nerve sheath tumors surgically treated at La Sapienza University of Rome. Clinical data, tumor-related characteristics, and outcome were analyzed. Women predominantly harbored these tumors. On admission sensory nerve root dysfunction was infrequently reported, whereas pyramidal tract deficits were often present. The tumor, generally large, was most frequently located in the intermediate thoracic segments and high cervical region; only one was reported in the lumbosacral region. Considerable erosion of vertebral bodies was reported in almost one third of the cases. In four patients eloquent nerve roots, that of C-5 in three and that of S-1 in one, were involved with the tumor. Radical tumor resection, with preservation of the nerve roots, was possible in several cases, whereas in two patients manipulation and resection of the C-5 root produced transient and permanent, respectively, root palsy. At follow-up examination patients for whom walking was impossible before surgery were now able to walk. Conclusions. Extradural schwannomas can be distinguished from other nerve sheath tumors growing inside the spinal canal by their clinicoradiological features and unlikely nerve root origin. After surgery, recovery from pyramidal tract deficits, even severe, is noteworthy; in the authors' experience, however, resection of an involved appendicular root is more likely to result in a permanent and significant radicular deficit.

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Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome with microscopic hemangioblastomas of the spinal nerve roots

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1984.60.6.1279 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 60 (6) ◽

pp. 1279-1281 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Sezgin Mehmet Ismail ◽

Gillian Cole

Keyword(s):

Clear Cell ◽

Spinal Nerve ◽

Unexpected Finding ◽

Spinal Nerve Roots ◽

Nerve Roots ◽

Content Type ◽

Von Hippel Lindau ◽

Adrenal Pheochromocytoma ◽

Von Hippel Lindau Syndrome ◽

Retinal Hemangioblastoma

✓ The authors describe a case of von Hippel-Lindau syndrome diagnosed at autopsy in a 49-year-old woman. She died suddenly following hemorrhage from a cerebellar hemangioblastoma. Other autopsy findings included a retinal hemangioblastoma, an adrenal pheochromocytoma, and a clear-cell renal tumor. The case was distinguished by the unexpected finding of multiple microscopic hemangioblastomas of the spinal nerve roots. The case is discussed with emphasis on the incidence of spinal hemangioblastomas in von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

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