[Ascending tetraplegia after embolic occlusion of medullary arteries by nucleus pulposus tissue (author's transl)].

A 19 year old woman developed an acute ascending tetraplegia, for which no reason could be found. 9 months later the patient died from a septicemia starting from a decubitus. Postmortem examination showed an occlusion of a medullary artery by emboli of nucleus pulposus tissue. A survey is given of similar cases reported in the literature and the cause of the embolism discussed. It seems most probable that invasion of the misshapen vessel by tissue from a pathological nucleus pulposus was responsible.