Serpentine lumbar nerve roots

This is a report of six patients with serpentine nerve roots found in 15 examples of near-block in 110 consecutive myelograms. None of the other myelograms showed such serpentine roots and some degree of obstruction appears necessary for their formation, leading to intermittent stretching of the nerve roots over large spurs and gradual advancement of the nerve root to a higher level. Serpentine roots are not to be confused with other lesions such as arteriovenous malformations. In patients with a high degree of block, serpentine roots are probably relatively common when investigated by methods such as those used here.