Neuraxial Anesthesia Related Morphological Phenomenon in Spinal Canal

Abstract

  It is necessary to pay attention to morphological information of the spinal canal, while performing the epidural and spinal anesthesia. In this report, we showed morphological changes in the spinal canal using myelography, magnetic resonance image, as follows: 1) the subarachnoid space is markedly compressed from the dorsal side by epidural injection, 2) the subarachnoid space is compressed from the ventral side by the engorged vein in pregnant women, 3) the spinal cord and cauda equina dynamically move in the subarachnoid space just by changing positions, and 4) the dynamical movement of the cauda equina in adults was more obvious than that in children. For safe and effective epidural and/or spinal anesthesia, it is very important to know about those events in the spinal canal.