Cystic dilation of the ventriculus terminalis in adults

Abstract

<jats:p>✓The ventriculus terminalis (VT) is a small ependyma-lined cavity within the conus medullaris that is in direct continuity with the central canal of the anterior portion of the spinal cord. Normally, such a cavity is identifiable only histologically in children and adults and can be visualized using common neuroradiological techniques only after dilation. Currently, the mechanisms of isolated dilation are not documented. The present work describes 2 cases of VT in elderly patients. Data from a histological and ultrastructural study of a case of VT dilation are reported, and the results are compared with those obtained from the VT of 5 fetuses to explain the nosological aspects of nontumoral VT lesions. Our data suggest that the site, age, and histological characteristics of the lesion allow us to define VT dilation as a nosological entity distinct from other cystic dilations of the conus medullaris.</jats:p>

Microsurgical fenestration of idiopathic intramedullary cysts in adult patients

“…All observed and evaluated symptoms (i.e., pain, motor and sensory, bladder dysfunction, and gait ataxia) appear to benefit from surgery. This is in accordance with previous publications, commonly reporting postoperative symptom improvement in symptomatic cases [1,3,4,8,11,15]. When reviewing our neurological outcome analyses, taking into consideration the limitation of a small sample size, we found motor deficits and pain syndromes to show the best overall postoperative outcome rates.…”

“…In this location, cysts constitute dilations of the central canal and are also referred to as ''fifth ventricle'' or ''terminal ventricle'' [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Only very few cases have been published, and the exact incidence rate of these lesions in adult patients still remains uncertain.…”

Cystic dilation of the ventriculus terminalis

“…Until now, 32 cases of CDVT, 25 of which were symptomatic, have been reported in literature in the form of small series or case reports; [1][2][3][4]6,[8][9][10][12][13][14][15][16][17] therefore, both the pathogenesis and clinical presentation are not well understood, and consensus on the best management option-that is, conservative treatment or surgical decompression-is still lacking. The object of this study was to report the surgical results in a consecutive series of 10 adult patients with CDVT, to match them with data retrieved from the relevant literature, and specifically to validate a new recent clinical classification.…”

Variants and Pitfalls in MR Imaging of the Spine

“…Truncation artifacts, in rare cases, may also mimic a focal syrinx or a ventriculus terminale. 13,14 These need to be identified to avoid any potential misinterpretation.…”