Paragangliomas of the spinal canal

Paragangliomas are tumors arising in the paraganglia and rarely occur in the spinal canal. In the literature, 11 such cases have been reported. We present 7 additional cases, 3 of which were epidural in location in contrast to previously described intradural cases. The problems of histological diagnosis of these tumors are discussed. The value of determination of biogenic amines in the tumor tissue or the urine has been pointed out.