syrinx
Last reviewed 01/2018
- term syrinx includes a group of conditions associated with the presence
of a cavity in the spinal cord
- process is usually associated with trauma or congenital abnormalities along the spinal neuraxis, typically at the craniocervical junction
- patients with this condition may require conservative or surgical treatment, depending on the severity and progression of the symptoms
- with the widespread use of magnetic resonance scanning, lesions in the
spinal cord such as syrinx can be diagnosed earlier, often before producing
clinical symptoms
- the natural history of syrinx, however, is not well understood
- syringomyelia is a slowly progressive syndrome of varying aetiology in which cavitation (formation of syrinxes) occur in the central segments of the spinal cord, generally in the cervical region, with resulting neurologic deficits