Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Intraoperative Ultrasound in Spinal Surgery
Published on: August 17, 2022
Thoraco-lumbar duplication of the spine. Case report and embryology review
S Ahmed1, C Xenos, A D Hockley
1Department of Paediatric Neurosurgery, Birmingham Children's Hospital, UK.
Object:
We present a case of an asymptomatic and neurologically normal 6-year-old girl who was noted to have a gross spinal abnormality.
Methods:
Neuroimaging demonstrates gross thoraco-lumbar spine duplication, which is at the severe end of the split cord malformation (SCM) group of congenital abnormalities. Despite the position of the neural structures, the clinical condition has so far not suggested that any surgical intervention is indicated, though the girl's later growth spurts may still unmask features of a tethered spinal cord.
Conclusions:
We present a brief review of the literature dealing with theories of embryogenesis relating to SCM, the common clinical and radiological features, and finally the surgical options available.
More Related Videos
06:45Modified Posterior Vertebral Column Resection for Patients with Thoracolumbar Kyphotic Deformity
Published on: September 16, 2022
04:33Spinal Hernia Repair and Cauda Equina Repositioning After Lumbar Decompression under Three-Dimensional Microscopy: A Case Report and Literature Review
Published on: November 8, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form the...
General Structure of a Vertebra
Herniated Intervertebral Disc l: Introduction