S3) Spinal Cord Injuries

Question 1

Spinal cord injuries- some introductory remarks - Look at slide and learn

Answer 1

Question 2

In most real life spinal cord injuries, they are blunt and incomplete.

What are the effects of blunt vs sharp spinal cord injury?

Answer 2

Question 3

In Brown-Sequard syndrome, if there was a LEFT hemi-section lesion occurring at the level of C8, what signs would we see?

Answer 3

Ventral horn lesion → cell bodes of motor neurone affected → Lower motor neurone defect in left C8 myotome

Ventral root also affected .: disconnecting the neurone from its supplying muscle

C8 dorsal horn affected .: STT affected .: lost is modalities

Dorsal root affected .: loss of dorsal column modalities in C8 dermatome and below affected (info can’t ascend up past the lesion) .: C8 dermatome rendered completely anaesthetic (lost all modalities)

Right loss of STT modalities - Contralateral side due to decussation of 2nd order neurone

The STT loss - sensory level may be lower due to Lissauer’s tract where we have some preservation of those modalities in the higher levels.

Question 4

What can happen during a central cord lesion e.g. in Syringomyelia?

Answer 4