The use of fluoroscopy guidance together with the loss of resistance technique during epidural injections has been advocated lately; moreover, epidural injections in the absence of fluoroscopic guidance have a high rate of inaccurate needle-tip placement during the injections. However, the approach to the lower cervical and upper thoracic epidural space may be challenging due to its obscure lat...

The outermost layer is the dura mater. The middle layer is the arachnoid mater. The inner layer is the pia mater. The epidural space is the space between the vertebral column and the dura mater. There is only a 'potential' epidural space in the skull. The subdural space is the space between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater. The subarachnoid space is the space between the arachnoid mater a...

The outermost layer is the dura mater. The middle layer is the arachnoid mater. The inner layer is the pia mater. The epidural space is the space between the vertebral column and the dura mater. There is only a 'potential' epidural space in the skull. The subdural space is the space between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater. The subarachnoid space is the space between the arachnoid mater a...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The major determinant of successful epidural anesthesia is the localization of the epidural space. The manual loss of resistance technique is widely used by anesthesiologists in identifying the epidural space. Should air or saline be used in detecting the point of loss of resistance? No consensus exists as to which technique is superior, and individual providers curren...

Pneumorrhachis is defined as the presence of air in the epidural space or subarachnoid space. The air may migrate along fascial planes from the posterior mediastinum, through the neural foramina, and into the epidural space. Pneumorrhachis is rare, and even more so in the paediatric population. Pneumorrhachis in itself usually is asymptomatic, does not tend to migrate and re...

The epidural space is seen in embryos at stage 17 (41 days) on the periphery of the primary meninx. During stage 18 (44 days) the dura mater proper appears and the epidural space is located between this meninx and the perichondrium and contains blood vessels. During the last week of the embryonic period (stages 20-23) the epidural space is evident around the circumference of the spinal cord. On...