What does effacement of anterior thecal sac mean?

What does effacement of anterior thecal sac mean?

Compression of the thecal sac means the protective membrane covering the spinal cord is experiencing extra pressure, according to Merck Manuals. Effacement of the thecal sac means that the thecal sac is being shortened or narrowed, according to the Free Dictionary.

What does effacement of epidural fat mean?

Epidural lipomatosis refers to an excessive accumulation of fat within the spinal epidural space resulting in compression of the thecal sac. In severe cases, compression may be symptomatic. The lumbar region is most frequently affected.

Does everyone have epidural fat?

Although not usually found in the cervical region, epidural fat is commonly found along thoracic and lumbo-sacral regions. Epidural fat is soft and protects the spinal cord and dorsal-ventral rami.

Is there fat in the epidural space?

Conclusions: The epidural space contains abundant epidural fat that distributes along the spinal canal in a predictable pattern. Fat cells are also abundant in the dura that forms the sleeves around spinal nerve roots but they are not embedded within the laminas that form the dura mater of the dural sac.

What does compression of thecal sac mean?

Thecal Sac Compression – The spinal cord and nerves are also protected by a membrane filled with cerebral spinal fluid known as the thecal sac or dural sac. Flattening or compression of the thecal sac will occur in other conditions that cause pressure or pinching of the spinal cord, such as stenosis.

Is epidural lipomatosis a disability?

Conclusions: LEL can influence the quality of life dramatically and cause a high degree of disability. A surgical decompression is a safe and effective procedure with a good clinical outcome comparable to the results in patients with an osteoligamentous spinal stenosis.

Where is the epidural fat located?

Epidural fat is adipose tissue located within the epidural space, that is, the area located between the dura mater and the vertebral wall of the spine. Epidural fat increases proximally to distally in the lumbar spinal canal [1,2].

What kind of pain does spinal stenosis cause?

Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spaces in your spine, can compress your spinal cord and nerve roots exiting each vertebrae. Age-related changes in your spine is a common cause. Symptoms include back and/or neck pain, and numbness, tingling and weakness in your arms and legs.

What does effacement of CSF mean?

Efface is a term frequently used by radiologists, most often in the context of CSF-containing spaces in the brain (sulci and ventricles). This implies that no CSF remains in those spaces. If there is incomplete obliteration of the space then one can use the term ‘partial effacement’.

What is the meaning of efface?

transitive verb. 1 : to eliminate or make indistinct by or as if by wearing away a surface coins with dates effaced by wear also : to cause to vanish daylight effaced the stars. 2 : to make (oneself) modestly or shyly inconspicuous.

Although not usually found in the cervical region, epidural fat is commonly found along thoracic and lumbo-sacral regions. Epidural fat is soft and protects the spinal cord and dorsal-ventral rami. When epidural fat accumulates, it can impinge on subarachnoid space and restrict nerve movement within the thecal sac.

What does effacement of the ventral thecal sac mean?

Effacement: means thinning. Ventral means the front of the spinal cord. The thecal sac is the encasement of the spinal cord. Ventral thecal sac effacement is thin Read More

What happens when the thecal sac is impinged?

Thecal sac impingement will often lead to painful conditions. The thecal sac is filled with CSF (cerebrospinal fluid), and it covers the spinal cord. Its parts are the inner dura and the outer arachnoid membrane. The thecal sac runs “until the S1 to S3 vertebral levels”. When the spine bends forward (flexes), it “elongates and moves upwards”.

What causes compression of the thecal sac in the back?

Compressive forces from hypertrophy of ligamentum flavum also could be impacting the thecal sac, according to ChiroGeek. Though severe thecal sac compression may limit proper circulation of cerebral spinal fluid, most cases of impingement on the sac generally resolve without treatment, according to The Back Pain Authority.

What does effacement in a spinal cord context mean?

In general, the word effaced entry means the thinning out of a structure, such as a cervix preparing for childbirth. The cord, and spinal fluid would be effaced or thinned out around the structure.

Effacement: means thinning. Ventral means the front of the spinal cord. The thecal sac is the encasement of the spinal cord. Ventral thecal sac effacement is thin Read More

What causes the flattening of the thecal sac?

Flattening of the thecal sac is noticed in patients with mild stenosis of the spinal canal. Thecal sac effacement is seen in patients with extradural lesions located in midline. Effacement of posterior epidural fat is observed in severe stenosis of the central canal.

What are the symptoms of compression of the thecal sac?

Ankylosing spondylitis and chronic adhesive arachnoiditis can also affect the thecal sac. Symptoms of thecal sac compression include muscle weakness, low back pain, and other clinical signs.1 The thecal sac is meant to protect and insulate nerve tissues.

What does it mean to have thecal sac impingement?

The terminology associated with this problem is thecal sac impingement, or a herniated disc “providing a mass effect”, “compressing”, “displacing”, or “encroaching on the thecal sac”. While many cases have no effects, there are some patients who have their spinal cord impacted.