The Spinal Cord in Relation to the Vertebral Column

Abstract

It is impossible to understand the developmental malformations of the CNS and their delayed complications without some knowledge of the embryology. This section is not intended to replace the superb available textbooks but merely attempts to summarize the information in a dynamic way. Because many of the developments occur in parallel it is difficult, in a limited number of illustrations, to define each component as accurately as the standard staging classifications. The following text and the illustrations are given on a rough timescale at which the developments occur. All the illustrations are drawn from the same angle of view, so that the orientation and sequence of events is more readily followed.