central spinal cord syndrome

A post-traumatic condition affecting the cervical spinal cord, in which necrosis spreads from the central gray matter peripherally to the myelin, resulting in focused damage to the corticospinal tracts; voluntary myelinated motor fibers to the arms are more central and those to the legs more peripheral; in CCS, lower motor neuron changes occur in the arms and are accompanied by leg spasticity; sensory defects reflect the degree of anterolateral and posterior column destruction, often accompanied by altered pain and temperature sensation in hands; CCS of acute onset may be accompanied by urinary retention and incontinence

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central spinal cord syndrome

Neurosurgery A condition affecting the cervical spinal cord, which follows spinal injury with acute hyperextension of the neck in older Pts often with congenital or acquired cervical spinal stenosis due to spondylosis; in CSCS, the motor defect is more severe in the upper extremity, and most marked in the intrinsic muscles of the hand; severity of sensory deficits and bowel and bladder dysfunction vary; although spontaneous improvement of neurologic function is the rule, residual defects are common, and may reflect the severity of the initial injury. Cf Central cord syndrome.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Patient discussion about central spinal cord syndrome

Q. what does c4-5 mild central disk bulging impinging upon cervical cord without spinal stenosis or distortion of the cord . mild righ neural foraminal narrowing from uncovertebral joint hypertropy mean

A. Well this basically means there is a very small narrowing of the cervical (your neck area) spinal canal (where the spinal cord is), however the narrowing does not cause any damage to the spinal cord, therefore probably does not cause any major symptoms involving the nerves. The c4-5 bulging part refers to the part in between the two cervical vertebras c4 and c5, in which the disc (a part in the spinal cord) is sliding a bit side-ways, but again, it does not seem to be causing any trouble.

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