THORACOLUMBAR INTRADURAL EXTRAMEDULLARY N EURENTERIC CYST WITHOUT CONCOMITANT MALFORMATIONS - REPORT OF A NEW CASE DOCUMENTED BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

An extramedullary neurenteric cyst was discovered in a 55 year old fem ale patient. She had experienced low back pain and sciatica three year s earlier and had an eight-month history of weakness and dysesthesia i n the lower limbs. Paraparesis with sensory loss in the lower limbs wa s found. Magnetic resonance imaging disclosed an intradural extramedul lary cyst lying posterior to the spinal cord at the level of T12-L1. T he cyst was removed surgically. Examination of the operative specimen confirmed the diagnosis of neurenteric cyst. At the follow-up six mont hs later neurologic function was normal. The embryogenesis, pathologic al features, and treatment of neurenteric cysts are discussed.