title: The position of the conus medullaris in children with a Chiari I malformation.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between the conus level and patients with a Chiari I malformation. This retrospective MRI study evaluated conus levels and degrees of tonsillar ectopia in 26 children ages 5-16 years with a Chiari I malformation. Our results show that there seems to be no relationship between the conus level and the amount of tonsillar ectopia that a child with a Chiari I malformation might have. In fact, there seemed to be an inverse relationship between these two entities. Interestingly, we have also found that of all coni located at the L2-L3 disc space or below, these patients had a syrinx associated with their Chiari I malformation and that all malformations without a syrinx had a 'normally' positioned conus medullaris.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ala., USA.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tubbs
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elton
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Bartolucci
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grabb
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Oakes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D004677:Encephalocele / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012249:Rhombencephalon; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000002:abnormalities*