Weekly Image Challenge – April 10, 2022

What is the diagnosis in these images?

  1. Myelomeningocele
  2. Diastematomyelia & tethered cord
  3. Syringomyelia
  4. Intradural extramedullary lesion
  5. Lipoma of the cord

Answer

 Congratulations to all those who selected diastematomyelia and tethered cord. It is a congenital condition in which the spinal cord is split into two halves within a single dural covering. It is often due to a bony spur growing out from the vetebrae, but it can be due to a lesion such as a lipoma, dermoid or epidermoid cyst.

Myelomeningocele would have a CSF filled sac with neural contents. It is most common in lumbosacral region.

There is syringomyelia in these images but that is not the main diagnosis. It is a result of tethering of the cord.