Why is the epidural space filled with fat tissue?
Table of Contents
Why is the epidural space filled with fat tissue?
The epidural fat seems to perform two functions: (1) it serves as a shock absorber for the other contents of the epidural space and for the dura and the contents of the dural sac, and (2) it serves as a depot for drugs injected into the cervical epidural space.
Which space surrounding the spinal cord contains fat and connective tissue?
The space between the dura and the wall of the vertebral canal is called the epidural space. It’s filled with fat, loose connective tissue, and blood vessels.
What is the epidural space filled with?
The epidural space is the area between the dura mater (a membrane) and the vertebral wall, containing fat and small blood vessels. The space is located just outside the dural sac which surrounds the nerve roots and is filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
Does the epidural space contain connective tissue?
The epidural space contains fat, the dural sac, spinal nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue (Table 3).
What causes fat in the spine?
Exogenous steroid use is the most common cause of epidural lipomatosis (non-neoplastic overgrowth of adipose tissue within the epidural space of spinal canal[1]) and accounts for about 55% of cases. [2] The less common causes are obesity (25%), Cushing’s syndrome (3%) and idiopathic (17%).
Is epidural fat normal?
Fat tissue is normally present between the vascular, neural and ligamentous structures of the epidural space. In the large majority of individuals, the amount of fat tissue within the epidural space does not appreciably change with age, or as the individual becomes obese or underweight.
What is the subarachnoid space?
The subarachnoid space consists of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), major blood vessels, and cisterns. The cisterns are enlarged pockets of CSF created due to the separation of the arachnoid mater from the pia mater based on the anatomy of the brain and spinal cord surface.
What fills the subarachnoid space?
What does subdural space contain?
subarachnoid space. blood supply of the meninges. innervation of the meninges.
What is the subarachnoid space filled with?
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
The subarachnoid space consists of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), major blood vessels, and cisterns. The cisterns are enlarged pockets of CSF created due to the separation of the arachnoid mater from the pia mater based on the anatomy of the brain and spinal cord surface.
Where is subdural space located?
The subdural space (epiarachnoid space) is a potential space that exists between the meningeal layer of the dura mater and the inner arachnoid mater of the leptomeninges which are adherent to each other 1.
What is a fatty mass on the spine?
Spine Disorders Lipomas are benign growths that are made up of normal adipose tissue (i.e., fat cells). They may rarely arise in the spinal cord or in the filum terminale, the thin fibrous tissue that connects to the bottom of the spinal cord.
Can fatty tumors cause back pain?
Episacral lipoma is a significant and treatable cause of acute and chronic low back pain. Episacral lipoma occurs as a result of tears in the thoracodorsal fascia and subsequent herniation of a portion of the underlying dorsal fat pad through the tear. This clinical entity is common, and recognition is simple.
Does epidural fat cause pain?
Conclusion. Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis is a rare condition caused by excess adipose tissue in the spinal canal. The excess tissue compresses the spinal cord, leading to pain and neurologic deficits.
What fills the subdural space?
The classic view has been that a so-called subdural space is located between the arachnoid and dura and that subdural hematomas or hygromas are the result of blood or cerebrospinal fluid accumulating in this (preexisting) space.
Is the subdural space filled with CSF?
The potential space between the arachnoid and dura is called the subdural space and according to some authors, it contains a very thin layer of fluid. The space between the arachnoid and pia is called the subarachnoid space and it is filled with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
What is the subarachnoid space between?
The subarachnoid space also known as the leptomeningeal space represents the cerebrospinal fluid-filled area between the arachnoid layer and the pia mater. It is part of the meningeal linings that separate the brain from the skull.
What is in spinal subdural space?
The subdural space is a virtual space in between the dura and arachnoid membrane. The subarachnoid space is home to the CSF, spinal cord and nerve rootlets. An epidural process replaces the epidural fat, displaces the dura and narrows the subarachnoid space.
What is spinal lipoma?
A spinal lipoma is defined as an intraspinal mass of adipose tissue that is contiguous with the adjacent spinal cord, usually at lumbosacral levels. These lesions are abnormalities of primary neurulation caused by focal premature disjunction of the neurocutaneous ectoderm.
