Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Radionuclide cisternography may be used to diagnose a spinal cerebrospinal fluid leak. CSF pressure is measured and imaged over 24 hours. [2] A radionuclide (radioisotope) is injected by lumbar puncture (spinal tap) into the cerebral spinal fluid to determine if there is abnormal CSF flow within the brain and spinal canal which can be altered by hydrocephalus, Arnold–Chiari malformation ...
Illustration depicting lumbar puncture (spinal tap) Spinal needles used in lumbar puncture Illustration depicting common positions for lumbar puncture procedure. The person is usually placed on their side (left more commonly than right). The patient bends the neck so the chin is close to the chest, hunches the back, and brings knees toward the ...
The CSF tap test, sometimes lumbar tap test or Miller Fisher Test, is a medical test that is used to decide whether shunting of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) would be helpful in a patient with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
Blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid examination by lumbar puncture (also known as spinal tap), brain imaging studies, electroencephalography (EEG), neuropsychological testing and similar diagnostic studies may be used to differentiate the various causes of encephalopathy. [citation needed] Diagnosis is frequently clinical.
Such severe spinal stenosis symptoms are virtually absent in lumbar stenosis, however, as the spinal cord terminates at the top end of the adult lumbar spine, with only nerve roots (cauda equina) continuing further down. [15] Cervical spinal stenosis is a condition involving narrowing of the spinal canal at the level of the neck.
Lumbar puncture ("spinal tap") is used to acquire CSF. The Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test of the CSF is the preferred test for making a diagnosis of neurosyphilis. [14] A positive test confirms neurosyphilis but a negative result does not rule out neurosyphilis.
The cisternal tap may be used in myelography when the upper margin of a spinal block needs to be defined; however, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become the procedure of choice for defining the upper and lower limits of spinal cord or spinal cord-compressing lesions.
A spinal tap or lumbar puncture may be used to obtain blood and CSF samples which can then be tested for parts of the virus or antibodies produced to combat the virus. MRI may be performed on the brain and spinal cord to check for abnormalities such as spinal cord degeneration and other potential causes of symptoms.