Intramedullary spinal cord meningioma--a case report

A 54-year-old female presented with a spinal intramedullary meningioma manifesting as extremely slow development of dysesthesia in the extremities. Sagittal T1-weighted resonance imaging showed fusiform enlargement of the cervical spinal cord with an area of low-signal intensity suggestive of syringomyelia extending bidirectionally up to the medulla oblongata and downward from the homogeneously enhanced intramedullary space-occupying lesion. The tumor was confirmed to be intramedullary mass with no dural attachment, and was totally removed en bloc. Histological examination showed transitional type of meningioma. The tumor specimen was positive for epithelial membrane antigen, and included glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive fibers, which were thought to be surrounding neural tissues trapped by the nodularity of the tumor in the growing process.