Developmental morphometry and allometry of spinal cord

Maya S,Leena C,Sreeranjini A R,Naveen Kumar ,A Irshad

doi:10.51128/jfas.2020.a002

Abstract

In mammals, the spinal cord forms a long, roughly cylindrical structure with cervical and lumbar enlargements. It is anchored in the vertebral canal, enclosed by meninges. The cord is protected by the epidural fat and terminates as the conus medullaris, which varied in level at different stages of gestation. The weight and length of the cord have a significant correlation in between them and with age, body weight, CRL, and vertebral column length and other body parameters. All cord segments did not correspond to the corresponding vertebrae. Initially, the spinal cord extended the entire length of the vertebral canal. Later it loose its correspondence with vertebral segments as gestation proceeds.

Highlights

Spinal cord of adult mammals is the elongated, cylindrical portion of the central nervous system that resides within the vertebral canal, enveloped by the meninges, bathed in the cerebrospinal fluid and anchored in the vertebral canal by ligaments (Kappers et al, 1967)
The vertebral column overgrew the cord, so that beyond the most cranial cervical region, the cord segments lay cranial to their corresponding vertebrae and the nerve roots made progressively more acute caudal angles to the cord as they proceeded to their appropriate exits (Sisson and Grossman, 1953)
During a short period of early embryonic life, the spinal cord grows at almost the same rate as the vertebral column displaying an isometric growth

Summary

Introduction

Spinal cord (medulla spinalis) of adult mammals is the elongated, cylindrical portion of the central nervous system that resides within the vertebral canal, enveloped by the meninges, bathed in the cerebrospinal fluid and anchored in the vertebral canal by ligaments (Kappers et al, 1967). On the basis of regional distribution of spinal nerves, the spinal cord could be divided into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal regions.

Results

Conclusion