Ascending nerve roots.

The usual anatomical description of the course of the nerve roots is that they run transversely or slightly downwards in the neck, with increasing downward obliquity in the thoracic and lumbar regions. Three consecutive necropsy examinations i w of the spinal cord, however, unexpectedly showed that many roots might in fact run cephalically (Fig. 1). This paper extends and modifies a previous * report (Reid, 1958) and records the direction of roots as found in 80 dissections in subjects 5 years of age and over. Evidence is presented to show that e;'. ascending roots may be radiologically demonstrable. The effects and significance of the anomaly are discussed. E XKA