Trauma: spinal cord syndromes Flashcards
spinal cord syndromes are caused by …
spinal cord syndromes are caused by lesions of the ascending or descending spinal tracts that result from trauma, spinal compression, or occlusion of spinal arteries.
Most common spinal cord syndrome
Central cord syndrome
What are some examples of spinal cord syndromes?
-Central cord
-anterior cord
-posterior cord
-Brown-sequard
-cauda equina
-conus medullaris
Neuroanatomy review: what are the descending tracts that originate in the cerebral cortex and extend to the alpha motor neuron in the ventral horn of the spinal cord
Lateral and anterior corticospinal tracts
What tract or tracts control motor function?
Lateral and anterior corticospinal tracts
Which tract:
Function: conveys epicritic sensation and proprioception
dorsal column
Which column: Function: conveys protopathic sensation
spinothalamic tract
Which major tract is responsible for sensation?
Anterolateral
Which tract is responsible for motor?
Descending tracts including the corticospinal tracts
Trauma, occlusion of the posterior spinal artery, multiple sclerosis impacting the posterior column would result in what?
Bilateral loss of proprioception, vibration, and touch sensation below the level of the lesion
Recall that posterior columns are important for sensation of touch/vibration/pressure/fine touch
Spinothalamic tracts are responsible for
Pressure sensation (anterior)
Protopathic sensation
Temperature (lateral)
Pain (lateral)
Crude touch (anterior)
The corticospinal tracts are (ascending or descending) and the spinothalamic tracts are (ascending or descending)
corticospinal tracts are (descending) and the spinothalamic tracts are (ascending)
What tracts are impacted in central cord syndrome?
Bilateral central corticospinal tracts and lateral spinothalamic tracts
What tracts are impacted in anterior cord syndrome?
Corticospinal tracts and spinothalamic tracts
What tracts are impacted in posterior cord syndrome?
Dorsal column (remember its made of thefasciculus gracilis and cuneatus)
What is impacted in brown sequard syndrome?
hemisection of the cord leading to ipsilateral loss of vibration sense, proprioception, paresis, and contralateral loss of pain and temp sensation.
It can lead to horner syndromein lesions above t1
a syndrome caused by injury to the central region of the spinal cord, which includes the central corticospinal tracts and decussating fibers of the lateral spinothalamic tract
Central cord syndrome
Brown sequard
Ipsilateral
Loss of all sensation at the level of the lesion
Segmental flaccid paralysis at the level of the lesion due to damage of lower motor neurons
Contralateral: loss of pain, temperature, and nondiscriminative touch (crude touch) one or two levels below the level of the lesion due to an interrupted spinothalamic tract
Brown sequard
