RT Journal Article
T1 The Filum Terminale Revisited: A Histological Study in Human Fetuses
A1 Jang, Hyung Suk
A1 Cho, Kwang Ho
A1 Chang, Hyuk
A1 Jin, Zhe Wu
A1 Rodríguez Vázquez, José Francisco
A1 Murakami, Gen
AB Previous studies have suggested that secondary neurulation provides no functional neurons but only the filum terminale. However, no studies have confirmed that the coccygeal and lower sacral nerves do not originate from the secondary neural tube but only from the primary tube. To obtain a better understanding of these relationships, we examined sagittal or frontal sections from 20 embryonic and fetal specimens ranging from 6 to 14 weeks of gestation. During the growth of the vertebral column as well as the subsequent upward migration of the caudal end of the dural sac, the secondary neural tube was stretched to maintain the original attachment to the coccyx or the lower sacral vertebra. The filum-like structure showed much individual variability but in all cases appeared to be derived from the stretched neural tube. Intermediate age morphology revealed that the secondary neural tube itself provided an initial filum terminale before the ascent of the dural sac. Given that the coccygeal and lower sacral nerves are likely to originate from the secondary neural tube, these parts of the tube persisted and differentiated into spinal neurons to form the anococcygeal nerves. Likewise, the filum terminale was also most likely to contain some neurons that persisted postnatally. Depending on the timing and site of degeneration of the secondary neural tube, individual variations could occur in proportion to the amount of sensory and motor elements in the anococcygeal nerve supply.
PB Karger Publishers
SN 1016-2291
YR 2015
FD 2015-11-24
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/110086
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/110086
LA eng
NO Jang HS, Cho KH, Chang H, Jin ZW, Rodriguez-Vazquez JF, Murakami G. The Filum Terminale Revisited: A Histological Study in Human Fetuses. Pediatr Neurosurg. 2016;51(1):9-19. doi: 10.1159/000439284
NO Wonkwang University
DS Docta Complutense
RD 22 jul 2025