Redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina caused by lumbar spinal canal stenosis

Abstract

To investigate pathogenesis of redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina, which were concomitant with severe lumbar spinal canal stenosis, six cadavers were examined anatomically and histopathologically, and quantitative analysis of nerve fibers was performed. In this anatomic study, it was observed that all the redundant nerve roots passed through the constriction of the spinal canal. No significant pathologic change was detected in the spinal ganglia and in the spinal cords except for the posterior column, in which dorsal redundant roots were entering. Redundant nerve roots of unequal length also were observed in the anatomic study. The spatial distribution of redundant nerve roots and the extent of degeneration of nerve fibers in them were established by these histopathologic and quantitative studies. These facts indicated a close causal relationship between redundant nerve roots and constriction of the spinal canal, and that the pathogenesis of redundant nerve roots was a squeezing force acting on the nerve roots at the area of spinal canal constriction.