The vertebral canal and spinal meninges (dave's notes)

Question 1

Describe the vertebral canal

Answer 1

A smooth walled tube

Question 2

What is the anterior boundary of the vertebral canal?

Answer 2

The vertebral bodies, discs and posterior longitudinal ligament

Question 3

What is the posterior boundary of the vertebral canal?

Answer 3

The vertebral laminae and the ligamentum flava

Question 4

What is lateral to the vertebral canal?

Answer 4

The pedicles and the intervening spaces

Question 5

What does the epidural space separate?

Answer 5

The boney walls from the contained meninges

Question 6

What does the epidural space contain? Describe the vessels in this space and their clinical significance.

Answer 6

Fat and veins which form a plexus which bypasses the diaphragms. No valves exist so communication thus exists between vertebra, thyroid, breast, kidney and prostate.

Question 7

What is the spinal dura? Where does it extend from and to?

Answer 7

A prolongation of the inner layer of the posterior cranial fossa dura from the foramen magnum to S2.

Question 8

What pierces the spinal dura?

Answer 8

Pierced segmentally bo the anterior and posterior roots

Question 9

Describe the spinal arachnoid space

Answer 9

Spinal arachnoid exists, with the subarachnoid space relatively large - 75-150mLs of CSF

Question 10

What coats the CNS surface? What else does this form?

Answer 10

Spinal pia mater. A lateral projection on either side forms the denticulate ligament, projecting down as the film terminale.