| spinal shock | Transient depression or abolition of reflex activity below the level of an acute spinal cord injury or transection. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| spinal sign | <clinical sign> In pleurisy, the spinal muscles are in a state of tonic contraction on the affected side. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spinal stenosis | An abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal that may be either congenital or acquired. Treatment is generally surgical to widen the spinal canal. Laminectomy may be the indicated surgical procedure to reduce pressure on the spinal cord. (27 Sep 1997) |
| spinal stroke | Abrupt onset of focal spinal cord dysfunction caused by a disturbance in its blood supply. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spinal tap | A diagnostic procedure where a sterile needle is introduced into the lower spine (L2) to collect cerebrospinal fluid for diagnostic purposes. Chemical analysis, cellular analysis and CSF pressure can all be measured with this procedure. This test can aid in the diagnosis of meningitis, subarachnoid haemorrhage and multiple sclerosis. (27 Sep 1997) |
| spinal tract | Any one of a multitude of fibre bundles ascending or descending in the spinal cord. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spinal tractotomy | Division of the anterolateral quadrant of the spinal cord to section the spinothalamic tract. Synonym: anterolateral tractotomy, spinal tractotomy, spinothalamic cordotomy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spinal trigeminal nucleus | The long sensory nucleus extending from the caudal border of the pontine sensory nucleus of the trigeminus down through the lateral region of the rhombencephalon into the upper three segments of the spinal cord's dorsal horn; it receives the fibres of the sensory root of the trigeminal nerve which descend along its lateral border as the spinal tract of trigeminal nerve. Synonym: nucleus tractus spinalis nervi trigemini, descending nucleus of the trigeminus, spinal nucleus of the trigeminus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spinal tumour | A spinal cord tumour is a aggregate if cells that form a mass that can compress the spinal cord. Spinal cord tumours may arise from local structures (for example meninges) or from a cancer from a distant site (i.e. Metastasis). Regardless of the aetiology, all spinal cord tumours cause symptoms from compression on the spinal cord, surrounding nerve roots or blood vessels that supply the cord. Symptoms are variable with the extent and the level of the spinal cord tumour. Common symptoms include back pain that may radiate, numbness and tingling to the lower extremities, muscle weakness in the legs, difficulty walking and loss of bowel and bladder control (incontinence). (27 Sep 1997) |
| spinal veins | The veins that drain the spinal cord; they form a plexus on the surface of the cord from which veins pass along the spinal roots to the internal vertebral venous plexus. Synonym: venae spinales. (05 Mar 2000) |
| subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord | A subacute or chronic disorder of the spinal cord, such as that occurring in certain patients with vitamin B12 deficiency, characterised by a slight to moderate degree of gliosis in association with spongiform degeneration of the posterior and lateral columns. Synonym: combined sclerosis, combined system disease, funicular myelitis, Putnam-Dana syndrome, vitamin B12 neuropathy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dentate ligament of spinal cord | Rarely used variation on the spelling of denticulate ligament. (05 Mar 2000) |
| differential spinal anaesthesia | A form of diagnostic spinal anaesthesia producing blockade of different types of nerves in the subarachnoid space, based upon their differences in sensitivity to local anaesthetics; also observed during surgical spinal anaesthesia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dorsal column of spinal cord | The pronounced, dorsolaterally oriented ridge of gray matter in each lateral half of the spinal cord, corresponding to the posterior or dorsal horn appearing in transverse sections of the cord. Synonym: columna posterior, dorsal column of spinal cord, posterior column of spinal cord. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dura mater of spinal cord | Single-layered strong membrane, comparable to and continuous with (at foramen magnum) the meningeal layer of the intracranial dura mater of the brain. It does not (in contrast to the dura mater of brain) adhere to the enveloping bony structures (vertebrae) or their periosteum, being separated from the latter by a considerable space, the vertebral epidural space-a true space containing the internal vertebral venous plexus embedded in a matrix of epidural fat. Synonym: dura mater spinalis, endorrhachis, theca vertebralis. (05 Mar 2000) |