Isolated spinal cord arteritis.
This patient presented as a subacute progressive cervical myelopathy and the differential diagnosis included cervical spondylotic myelopathy and intramedullary mass. Microscopically, vascular lesions plus a patchy myelomalacia indicated a vasculitis. However, there was no suggestion of a generalized vasculitis at autopsy and the only supporting laboratory study was a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate. It would seem that a vasculitis similar to polyarteritis nodosa or other collagen disease may be confined to the spinal cord.
D001167:Arteritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D001344:Autopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009192:Myelography; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery