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Human Spinal Microanatomy

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Neuraxial Therapeutics

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Abstract

This chapter aims to describe the gross and microscopic anatomy of structures within the spinal canal, which are the targets of drugs used for various medical treatments and procedures presented in this book. This chapter also describes the barriers protecting axons that shape the nervous system at the spinal level.

A detailed description is made of the neural structures of the spinal cord such as the nerve rootlets, the dorsal and ventral nerve roots located in the subarachnoid space and surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, and the spinal nerve roots traveling toward their exit through the intervertebral foramina and enclosed within dural sleeves. The morphological aspects of the spinal meningeal layers are described, including the dural sac formed by the dura mater and its laminar constituents and by the arachnoid mater, the trabecular arachnoid, the pia mater, and the meningeal coverings of the dural cuffs or sleeves. To conclude, this chapter provides an outline of epidural fat and the distribution of the cerebrospinal fluid along the spinal canal.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, CEU-San-Pablo University, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel Angel Reina

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Miguel Angel Reina, André P. Boezaart & Yury Zasimovich

  3. Lumina Health Pain Medicine Collaborative, Surrey, UK

    André P. Boezaart

  4. Acute and Perioperative Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Florida Health, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Yury Zasimovich

  5. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Florida Health, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Olga C. Nin

  6. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Olga C. Nin

  7. Laboratory of Surgical Neuro Anatomy, Human Anatomy and Embryology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Alberto Prats-Galino

  8. General University Hospital, Valencia, Spain

    José De Andrés

  9. Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management, Valencia University Medical School, Valencia, Spain

    José De Andrés

  10. Anesthesia Unit-Surgical Specialties Department, Valencia University Medical School, Valencia, Spain

    José De Andrés

Authors
  1. Miguel Angel Reina
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  2. André P. Boezaart
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  3. Yury Zasimovich
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  4. Olga C. Nin
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  5. Alberto Prats-Galino
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  6. José De Andrés
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miguel Angel Reina .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. (CTF-312), UC San Diego-Anesthesia Res Lab 081 (CTF-312), La Jolla, CA, USA

    Tony Yaksh

  2. University Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Salim Hayek

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Reina, M.A., Boezaart, A.P., Zasimovich, Y., Nin, O.C., Prats-Galino, A., De Andrés, J. (2023). Human Spinal Microanatomy. In: Yaksh, T., Hayek, S. (eds) Neuraxial Therapeutics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39558-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39558-1_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-39557-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-39558-1

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