[Anatomy of intradural anastomoses between cervical nerve roots (authors' translation)]

In cases of cervical radiculopathy manifested by neural deficit, the exact localization of nerve root compression is hampered by anatomical variations such as anastomoses between bundles of adjacent segmental nerve roots inside the dural sac. A dissecting microscope study of the microsurgical anatomy of cervical nerve roots was carried out on 23 spinal cords, and four types of anastomoses were described. On the basis of embryological observations, the occurrence of such connections between neighboring posterior nerve roots can be explained.