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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Image Acquisition Method for the Sonographic Assessment of the Inferior Vena Cava
Published on: January 13, 2023
Intradural spinal vein enlargement in craniospinal hypotension
M Todd Burtis1, John L Ulmer, Glenn A Miller
1Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
Abstract:
We present a case of craniospinal hypotension in a 45-year-old woman with an associated epidural pseudomeningocele extending the entire length of the spine. The epidural pseudomeningocele was caused by a CSF leak at the T8 level. In addition to typical low-pressure symptoms, the epidural pseudomeningocele caused atypical symptoms characterized by positional thoracic radiculopathy. Craniospinal hypotension was associated with massive cervical epidural venous engorgement, as well as enlargement of the posterior spinal cord vein, which was reminiscent of a dural arteriovenous fistula at CT myelography. Enlargement of the posterior spinal vein is explained by the Monro-Kellie hypothesis, and the spinal analog to enlarged cerebral veins known to be associated with intracranial hypotension.
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