Redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina. A report of five cases.

Five personally examined cases of redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina are added to the 13 hitherto on record. Except for segmental neurological deficits, intermittent claudication-like symptoms of the cauda equina dominated the histories of four of our five cases. The diagnosis was confirmed at surgical exploration, which included laminal and dural decompression. At follow-up (two months--three years) the neurological deficit, or the intermittent claudication, or both, had improved in all our patients. The pathogenesis of root redundancy is obscure. It seems that the symptoms arise through the action of at least two factors viz compression of the spinal content and the existence of one or more redundant roots. Wider use of diagnostic aids and surgical exploration would probably show that redundant roots are more common than hitherto supposed.