BACKGROUND Myxopapillary ependymomas usually occur in the filum terminale of the spinal cord. OBJECTIVE This report summarizes our experience treating myxopapillary ependymomas. METHODS The records of 34 patients (14 men, 20 women; mean age 45.5 years; age range, 14-88 years) who underwent resection of a myxopapillary ependymoma between 1983 and 2006 were reviewed for age, sex, tumor locati...

A 48-year-old woman presented to our imaging department with lumbar sciatica. The patient had a medical history of low back pain and spina bifida. A transverse section lumbar spine CT-scan, obtained with soft-tissue window setting (Fig. A, arrow) showed, a fat-density (45-HU), oblong, posterior intradural supracentimetric lesion, at level of L5-S1. The use of bone window setting revealed a spin...

The spinal dura mater is a dense inelastic membrane which forms a loose sheath around the spinal cord. It is attached to the circumference of the foramen magnum, and the posterior surface of the bodies of the second and third cervical vertebrae. At the level of the second sacral vertebra it invests the filum terminale and descends to the posterior aspect of the coccyx, where it blends with the ...

A 25-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with low back pain radiating to the anterior aspect of both thighs, progressively worsening over 6 months. Her neurologic examination was unremarkable. MRI of the lumbar spine revealed an intradural extramedullary lesion located in the region of the conus medullaris (figure 1, A–D). The patient underwent bilateral T12 and L1 laminectomie...

Sacral agenesis (SA) is a rare condition consisting of the imperfect development of any part of the sacrum. This paper describes two cases of the rare cooccurrence of ipsilateral SA and developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and analyzes possible contributory factors for SA and DDH. Each of a 16-year-old female and 13-year-old female visited our hospital for left hip pain and limping. The fin...

OBJECTIVE Currently, the standard practice to treat intradural spinal tumours involves microsurgical resection of the lesions. It is essential to be able to locate the lesion precisely to reduce the risk of neurological morbidity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS) in visualizing intradural spinal tumours, and assess its potential to improve surgical...