This medical anatomical diagram illustrates a cross-section of the spinal cord (medulla oblongata level, approximately 18 mm below the obex), specifically focusing on the neuroanatomical structures targeted during a trigeminal nucleotomy. The diagram highlights both white matter tracts and gray matter nuclei. In the posterior column, the Fasciculus Gracilis (FG) is medially positioned, while the Fasciculus Cuneatus (FC) is lateral to it. The lateral white matter contains the Lateral Corticospinal Tract (LCST), Dorsal Spinocerebellar Tract (DSCT), and Ventral Spinocerebellar Tract (VSCT). On the right side of the diagram, a surgical probe is shown penetrating the Spinal Trigeminal Tract (STT/STrigT) to target the Spinal Trigeminal Nucleus (STN), specifically indicating the Gelatinosa Portion (GP) and the Magnocellular Portion (MC). Other notable structures include the Rubrospinal Tract (RST) and the Lateral Spinothalamic Tract (LSTT). This illustration is designed for neurosurgical education, demonstrating the spatial relationships necessary for selective destruction of pain-transmitting nuclei in the brainstem and upper cervical spinal cord.

This medical schematic diagram illustrates four pre-clinical spinal cord injury (SCI) models in axial cross-section, highlighting damaged regions (translucent red overlay), motor tracts (opaque red), and sensory tracts (blue). 1. Cord Hemisection Model: Shows damage isolated to one lateral half of the spinal cord, characteristic of Brown-Séquard syndrome, affecting both motor and sensory tracts on the ipsilateral side. 2. Cord Transection Model: Depicts complete injury across the entire cord diameter, resulting in total disruption of all motor and sensory pathways. 3. Dorsal Column Crush Model: Features localized damage concentrated in the posterior (dorsal) funiculus, primarily affecting ascending sensory tracts. 4. Weight Drop Contusion Model: Displays a diffuse, central injury zone impacting the grey matter and surrounding white matter tracts, simulating clinical traumatic contusion. The diagram serves as an educational tool for comparing injury patterns across experimental models used in neurotrauma research and their resulting impact on anatomical tracts.

This composite educational image illustrates the functional and anatomical progression of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Panel A is an anatomical diagram of a spinal cord cross-section labeling key tracts like the dorsal corticospinal tract and ventral horn. Panels B and C show line graphs tracking clinical recovery via body weight and the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor score. Panel D provides a schematic of the sampling strategy relative to the lesion epicentrum. Panel E displays low-magnification micrographs of Nissl-stained coronal sections at the lesion center, rostral, and caudal levels across three time points: 1, 8, and 45 days post-lesion (DPL). The micrographs show acute tissue disruption at 1 and 8 DPL, progressing to significant cavitation and tissue loss at 45 DPL (scale bars 1000 µm). Panel F shows a 3D reconstruction of longitudinal sections at 45 DPL, demonstrating the spatial extent of the cavitation, which spans approximately 6 mm rostro-caudally and reaches a dorso-ventral depth of 2 mm toward the ventral horn.

This educational anatomical diagram utilizes MRI sequences to illustrate the compartmental anatomy of the spinal canal. On the left, an axial T2-weighted image shows a cross-section of a lumbar vertebra, highlighting the high-signal (bright) cerebrospinal fluid within the thecal sac (broad white arrow). On the right, a sagittal T1-weighted sequence displays the vertical alignment of vertebral bodies and the spinal cord. Color-coded overlays define three key anatomical spaces: the intramedullary space (green) containing the spinal cord, the intradural space (yellow), and the dorsal epidural space (purple). Key ligamentous landmarks are annotated with arrows: the posterior longitudinal ligament (curved white arrow) bordering the anterior aspect of the canal, and the ligamentum flavum (black arrow) forming the posterior border. The dotted white arrow points to the epidural fat within the epidural space, characterized by intermediate signal on T1 and T2 sequences. This visualization is designed for teaching clinicians and medical students the spatial relationships necessary for localizing spinal pathologies such as disc herniations, epidural abscesses, or intramedullary tumors.

This medical schematic diagram illustrates four pre-clinical spinal cord injury (SCI) models in axial cross-section, highlighting damaged regions (translucent red overlay), motor tracts (opaque red), and sensory tracts (blue). 1. Cord Hemisection Model: Shows damage isolated to one lateral half of the spinal cord, characteristic of Brown-Séquard syndrome, affecting both motor and sensory tracts on the ipsilateral side. 2. Cord Transection Model: Depicts complete injury across the entire cord diameter, resulting in total disruption of all motor and sensory pathways. 3. Dorsal Column Crush Model: Features localized damage concentrated in the posterior (dorsal) funiculus, primarily affecting ascending sensory tracts. 4. Weight Drop Contusion Model: Displays a diffuse, central injury zone impacting the grey matter and surrounding white matter tracts, simulating clinical traumatic contusion. The diagram serves as an educational tool for comparing injury patterns across experimental models used in neurotrauma research and their resulting impact on anatomical tracts.

This clinical intraoperative photograph shows an exposed thoracic spinal cord under surgical magnification following a T2-T3 laminectomy. The image illustrates a traumatic spinal cord hemisection resulting from penetrating trauma. A black arrow points to the primary site of injury where the right lateral aspect of the spinal cord is visibly severed and disrupted. The exposed cord tissue appears pale-white against the background of bright red, hyperemic surgical margins and contused dura mater. Labels indicate the anatomical orientation: 'Cranial' (right), 'Caudal' (left), 'Midline' (top), and 'Lateral' (bottom). The dura mater at both the cranial and caudal poles of the surgical field shows significant contusion and hemorrhagic discoloration. This visual serves as a critical educational example of acute mechanical spinal cord disruption and is relevant for neurosurgical training regarding the assessment of Brown-Séquard syndrome-related injuries and subsequent micro-surgical repair techniques.

This composite diagnostic image features an axial cross-sectional graphic of the cervical spinal cord anatomy superimposed on a radiological background. The illustration uses color-coded regions to delineate primary white matter tracts: the dorsal column-medial lemniscus system is shown in blue (posteriorly), the lateral corticospinal tracts in red (laterally), the anterior corticospinal tracts in yellow (medial-anteriorly), and the anterolateral system (spinothalamic tract) in green (anterolaterally). A white outline represents the central grey matter of the spinal cord. White asterisks are strategically placed on the left hemicord tracts (blue, red, yellow, and green regions) to indicate the site of anatomical damage associated with a left-sided spinal cord lesion. This visual aid is designed to explain the pathophysiology of Brown-Séquard syndrome, illustrating how a hemicord injury affects specific ascending and descending pathways, leading to ipsilateral motor/proprioceptive loss and contralateral pain/temperature loss.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the thoracic spine demonstrating features of anterior spinal cord syndrome. Panel A shows a sagittal T2-weighted image (T2WI) with a prominent, longitudinally extensive linear hyperintensity within the spinal cord, extending from approximately T2 to T10. Panel B displays an axial T2WI at the T8 vertebral level, highlighting bilateral, symmetrical hyperintense spots localized to the anterior horns of the gray matter. This classic radiological finding is known as the 'owl’s eye appearance' or 'snake-eye appearance,' which is highly characteristic of spinal cord infarction, particularly in the distribution of the anterior spinal artery. The imaging captures the typical central gray matter vulnerability to ischemia or embolic events, such as air embolism, in the context of vascular compromise.

This diagnostic imaging composite displays eight T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the spinal cord in patients with Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS). The images consist of paired axial (a, c, e, g) and sagittal (b, d, f, h) views demonstrating four distinct patterns of intramedullary T2-hyperintense lesions. Panels (a) and (b) illustrate the 'H' pattern, where hyperintensity is localized to the central gray matter. Panels (c) and (d) show the 'H plus' pattern, involving both the gray matter and the posterior white matter columns. Panels (e) and (f) demonstrate an anterior pattern, with hyperintensity isolated to the anterior columns. Panels (g) and (h) show a posterior pattern, confined to the dorsal columns. The sagittal views indicate the longitudinal extent of these lesions, ranging from focal cervical involvement to multisegmental cervicothoracic extension. These radiological patterns provide evidence of both gray and white matter vacuolization, serving as a key diagnostic indicator for spinal involvement in mitochondrial cytopathies like KSS.

This diagnostic image is a transverse T2-weighted MRI of the thoracic spine at the Th4-5 vertebral level, specifically showing post-surgical follow-up. The central feature is the spinal canal, where the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) exhibits a high signal intensity (bright white), clearly delineating the spinal cord, which appears as a lower-intensity (gray), rounded structure. The image demonstrates the restoration of the anterior subarachnoid space, with a visible layer of CSF separating the anterior surface of the spinal cord from the posterior aspect of the vertebral body. Anatomically, the vertebral body is positioned anteriorly, the spinal canal is central, and the posterior elements are visible behind the cord. This imaging modality and view are used in neurosurgery and orthopedics to assess spinal cord decompression, CSF flow, and positional changes of the cord within the thecal sac following procedures for conditions such as tethered cord syndrome or disc herniation.

This sagittal CT scan of the cervical spine demonstrates findings consistent with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Extensive anterior autofusion is visible from C4 to T1, characterized by flowing ossification along the anterior aspect of the vertebral bodies. A prominent focal region of OPLL is identified at the C3-4 level, protruding into the spinal canal and narrowing the space for the spinal cord. Additionally, a distinct transverse lucency is observed through an anterior syndesmophyte at the C6-7 level, which may indicate a fracture or pseudoarthrosis. The vertebral bodies show preserved height, but the intervertebral disc spaces are obscured by the surrounding bony bridging. This image is medically significant for illustrating multi-level spinal stiffness and focal compressive pathologies that increase the risk of central cord syndrome following minor trauma. Target educational concepts include the radiographic identification of DISH, OPLL morphology, and the evaluation of spinal fractures in ankylosed spines.