Ciappetta Pasqualino, D'urso Pietro Ivo, Luzzi Sabino, Ingravallo Giuseppe, Cimmino Antonia, Resta Leonardo
Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy.
J Neurosurg Spine. 2008 Jan;8(1):92-9. doi: 10.3171/SPI-08/01/092.
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.
终室（VT）是脊髓圆锥内一个内衬室管膜的小腔隙，与脊髓前部的中央管直接相连。通常，这样的腔隙仅在儿童和成人中通过组织学才能识别，只有在扩张后才能使用常见的神经放射学技术可视化。目前，孤立性扩张的机制尚无文献记载。本研究描述了2例老年患者的终室情况。报告了1例终室扩张的组织学和超微结构研究数据，并将结果与5例胎儿的终室结果进行比较，以解释非肿瘤性终室病变的疾病分类学方面。我们的数据表明，病变的部位、年龄和组织学特征使我们能够将终室扩张定义为一种与脊髓圆锥其他囊性扩张不同的疾病分类实体。
