[A case of spinal astrocytoma presenting spinal transverse sign due to hematomyelia].

An unusual case of cervical astrocytoma due to hematomyelia was reported. A 68-year-old man was admitted to our institute because of sudden onset of paraplegia and urinary and bowel disturbance. CT and plain X ray on admission showed no abnormal findings, but emergency MRI revealed a high signal intensity area in Th 8-9 level on T1 weighted image. Preoperative diagnosis was idiopathic hematomyelia and emergency laminectomy was performed. After the dural incision from Th 8-10, the intramedullary hematoma was totally removed, but at the cephalic portion within the hematoma cavity an abnormal tumorous tissue was detected. It was noticed with the bleeding sauce of hematomyelia, and it, too, was totally removed. The microscopic finding concerning the surgical specimen was fibrillary astrocytoma (grade 2), and its vascular component was relatively rich.