What is the difference between the cauda equina and the filum terminale?

The space inside the arachnoid mater is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Below the conus medullaris, this space is enlarged. This enlargement is called the lumbar cistern and contains CSF, the filum terminale, and the cauda equina.

The filum terminale (FT) is a fibrous band that extends from the conus medullaris to the periosteum of the coccyx, and its functions are to fixate, stabilize, and buffer the distal spinal cord from normal and abnormal cephalic and caudal traction.

The collection of nerves at the end of the spinal cord is known as the cauda equina, due to its resemblance to a horse’s tail. The spinal cord ends at the upper portion of the lumbar (lower back) spine.

CES affects a bundle of nerve roots called cauda equina (Latin for horse’s tail). These nerves are located at the lower end of the spinal cord in the lumbosacral spine. They send and receive messages to and from your legs, feet, and pelvic organs.

Central Nervous System (CNS) Beyond L1 the spinal cord becomes the cauda equina (see below). The spinal cord provides a means of communication between the brain and peripheral nerves.

The cauda equina is the sack of nerve roots (nerves that leave the spinal cord between spaces in the bones of the spine to connect to other parts of the body) at the lower end of the spinal cord. These nerve roots provide the ability to move and feel sensation in the legs and the bladder.

Objective: To identify and characterize in detail a novel source of human NPCs in the filum terminale (FT), a vestigial structure at the caudal end of the spinal cord, which is easily accessed and plays no functional role in the postnatal nervous system.

Within the cauda equina, a thin strand of pia mater. What is the function of the Filum Terminale? It helps anchor the conus medullaris to the coccyx.

The symptoms and signs of cauda equina syndrome tend to be mostly lower motor neuron (LMN) in nature, while those of conus medullaris syndrome are a combination of LMN and upper motor neuron (UMN) effects (see Table 1, below).

How do tracts and nerves differ? How do nuclei and ganglia differ? A nerve is a bundle of axons in the PNS, whereas a tract is a bundle of axons in the CNS.

The cauda equina is a group of nerves and nerve roots stemming from the distal end of the spinal cord, typically levels L1-L5 and contains axons of nerves that give both motor and sensory innervation to the legs, bladder, anus, and perineum.

The Cauda Equina and Its Function The cauda equina gets its name from Latin for “horse’s tail,” because the nerves at the end of the spine visually resemble a horse’s tail as they extend from the spinal cord, through the lumbar spine and over the sacrum, and down the back of each leg.

The cauda equina is formed by the L2–L5, S1–S5, and coccygeal spinal nerve roots located in the dural sac. Cauda equina syndrome is characterized by radiating low-back pain, saddle anesthesia, bowel and bladder impairment, weakness, loss of sensation, and hyporeflexia or areflexia in the lower extremities.

• Lower limb weakness and intermittent changes in sensation, such as numbness.
• “Saddle anesthesia” – loss or diminished sensation in areas where a person would sit on a saddle.
• Urinary and/or bowel problems, such as retention or incontinence.

The cauda equina exists within the lumbar cistern, a gap between the arachnoid membrane and the pia matter of the spinal cord, called the subarachnoid space. Cerebrospinal fluid also exists within this space.

During development, the vertebral column grows more rapidly than the spinal cord. … The cauda equina (CE) is a bundle of intradural nerve roots at the end of the spinal cord, in the subarachnoid space distal to the conus medullaris. Cauda is Latin for tail, and equina is Latin for horse (ie, the “horse’s tail”).

Akin to the rest of the spinal cord, the horsehair projections that together are termed the cauda equina are enveloped in the dura, arachnoid, and pia mater, the 3 meningeal layers.

The filum terminale is an extension of the pia mater that is attached to the coccygeal segments, whose function is to suspend the cord in the CSF (like the denticulate ligaments).

The pia mater is the meningeal envelope that firmly adheres to the surface of the brain and spinal cord. It is a very thin membrane composed of fibrous tissue covered on its outer surface by a sheet of flat cells thought to be impermeable to fluid.…

In the brain, this ends up in the interstitial space. The protein portions are able to leave through the very permeable pia mater and enter the subarachnoid space in order to flow in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), eventually ending up in the cerebral veins.

The filum terminale is a strand of tissue that bridges the spinal cord tip and the tailbone (sacrum). The inelastic structures in children originated from defective closure of the neural tube (the precursor of the spinal cord) during embryonic development, eventually forming a condition known as spina bifida.

The correct answer is (E). The spinal nerve contains axons of both sensory information which send information into the spinal cord and motor axons…

The filum terminale is a thin strand of pia mater that helps anchor the conus medullaris to the coccyx.

Saddle anaesthesia is a red flag symptom of cauda equina syndrome. Cauda equina syndrome is a medical emergency, so a patient with saddle anaesthesia should be urgently referred to hospital for an MRI scan.

Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is usually characterised by these so-called ‘red flag’ symptoms: Severe low back pain (LBP) Sciatica: often bilateral but sometimes absent, especially at L5/S1 with an inferior sequestration. Saddle and/or genital sensory disturbance.

Areflexic, or flaccid, bladder and bowels occur when the spinal cord injury is low enough to damage the cauda equina and alpha motor neurons. It also occurs in all spinal cord injury patients during the initial “spinal shock” phase and may last days to many weeks post-injury.

Ganglia is the plural of the word ganglion. Ganglia are clusters of nerve cell bodies found throughout the body. They are part of the peripheral nervous system and carry nerve signals to and from the central nervous system.

Alex A.: What is the difference between a tract and a nerve? Answer: A tract is a collection of nerve fibers (axons) in the central nervous system. A nerve is a collection of nerve fibers (axons) in the peripheral nervous system.

The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord, while the PNS includes all other nervous system tissue. All sensory receptors, sensory neurons and motor neurons are part of the PNS. The bones of the skull and spinal vertebrae encase all CNS neurons.

Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a condition that occurs when the bundle of nerves below the end of the spinal cord known as the cauda equina is damaged. Signs and symptoms include low back pain, pain that radiates down the leg, numbness around the anus, and loss of bowel or bladder control.

When the Cauda Equina nerves are compressed this normally results in what are commonly referred to as ‘red flag’ symptoms. Cauda Equina Syndrome is a medical emergency because delayed decompression surgery can result in lifelong disability.

There is a small risk of having an allergic reaction to the dye. You will be given medicine for a reaction. In rare cases, inflammation of the spinal cord, weakness, numbness, paralysis, or loss of control of your bowel or bladder may develop. Also in rare cases, the dye may cause blockage of the spinal canal.

A large ruptured disc can cause cauda equina syndrome. During a herniation, the gel-like center of a spinal disc can bulge or rupture through a weak area in the disc wall and compress the nerves. In the majority of cases, the disc herniation occurs at the L4-5 or L5-S1 discs in the lumbar spine.