Myelopathy

Shamik Bhattacharyya, MD, MS

The spinal cord is the orphan child of neurology. The brain frequently appears in various poses and layers of covering on many magazine covers. Residents line up to learn electrodiagnostic techniques to evaluate peripheral nerves. But, what about the spinal cord? During residency, I approached our then department chair Dr. Martin A. Samuels with the thought that I would specialize in diseases of the spinal cord. He looked at me and asked what I would even call such as a specialty. He called it “myelology.” The term has yet to go viral. Neurologists often have an interest in myelitis, but have relegated many other ill understood spinal cord disorders like cervical spondylotic disease or infectious myelopathies or hereditary myelopathies to other specialties. The spine section meetings at American Academy of Neurology conferences look like small family gatherings.

Fortunately, interest in spinal cord disorders is reviving. I am grateful to Dr. David Greer for the opportunity to create an issue on this topic and for his close reading of the submissions. In this issue of Seminars in Neurology, we gather together the family of neurologists, radiologists, and neurosurgeons interested in the clinical neurology of spinal cord disorders. We start with broad surveys of clinical approach to myelopathy and imaging of the spinal cord. Subsequently, we explore individual diseases in greater detail. I am most grateful to the authors from multiple disciplines who dedicated precious time and thought to write these sections and then address multiple comments during revisions. I hope that the reader will find these sections not only informative but also practical enough to improve clinical practice. I also fervently hope that trainees who read the articles will be inspired to take a deeper interest in spinal cord disorders and move forward our knowledge about these diseases.

Publication History

Article published online:
30 June 2021