[A case of dural arteriovenous fistula at the craniocervical junction, which spinal MRI findings reveals increased intensity signal in Th3-medullary cone].

A 60-year-old woman had transient weakness of the legs and urinary retention for six weeks. She presented with a gait disorder and was admitted to the hospital. She showed symptoms of paraplegia, tingling in the lower extremities, dysuria. She underwent an MRI, and T2-weighted images showed an enlargement of the thoracolumbar spinal cord and high intensity signal from Th3 to the medullary cone, and a contrast-enhanced T1-weighted image showed abnormal vessels anterior to the spine cord. Cervical and spinal angiography documented a dural arteriovenous fistula at the craniocervical junction that was fed by the right vertebral artery and the right ascending pharyngeal arteries and drained into the perimedullary veins. Surgical therapy improved her symptoms and MRI images. Craniocervical junction DAVF with thoracic-medullary cones lesion is rare.