The Anatomy, Physiology and Clinical Features of Spinal Cord Disease

Abstract

The spinal cord is approximately 45 cm long and extends from the top of Cl vertebra to the bottom of the body of L1 vertebra. At birth the conus of the spinal cord has already been pulled up to L3 level and the final position is established at the latest by the age of 10. The spinal cord is not a perfect cylinder but has two major enlargements at cervical and lumbar level. These are the areas of the motor neuron pools that supply the arms and the legs and the result is a considerable expansion of the grey matter in these areas. They extend respectively from C3 to T2 and from L1 to S3 (Fig. 13.1).