Get The Right Treatment For Spinal Cord Tumors
Spinal cord is a long column of nerve fibers that carries messages to and from the brain. There are three protective membranes known as meninges which wraps around the entire spinal cord. The tough layer is the dura mater, the middle layer is the arachnoid membrane and the innermost layer is the pia mater.

Classification of Tumors
Spinal cord tumors are classified according to their location in the spine, like intradural or extradural depending on where they occur relative to theses protective membranes of the spinal cord. Intradural tumors occur within the dura matter and are divided into two subcategories known as Extramedullary tumors and Intramedullary tumors. Extramedullary tumors develop outside the spinal cord, such as in the surrounding dura mater or in the nerve roots that extend out from the spinal cord. Whereas, Intramedullary tumors begin in the supporting cells within the spinal cord.
Causes & SymptomsThe intramedullary tumors from other parts of the body can spread through the bloodstream to the spinal cord . In some cases spinal cord tumors are linked to known inherited syndromes such as von Hippel-Lindau disease and neurofibromatosis 2. Also any type of cancer can travel to the spine, the cancers that are more likely to affect the spine include breast, lung, prostrate and multiple myeloma. Both cancerous and noncancerous spinal tumors compress the spinal cord and nerves , which leads to:
- loss of sensation or movement at the low level of the tumor
- changes the bladder function.
- nerve damage