[Myelomalacia caused by embolism of the substantia gelatinosa in the vertebral column and spinal cord arteries].

A 56 year old woman developed a transverse lumbar paraplegia within two hours following a jump from an 80 centimeter high window. The patient died 13 days later from a pulmonary embolus. At autopsy an intervertebral disc tissue embolus was found in the arteries to the 12th thoracic vertebral body and the spinal cord. The embolus originated in a Schmorl nodule in the 12th thoracic vertebral body. The findings and the clinical course suggest that dislodged nucleus pulposus tissue was expressed into the vascular system over some time as a result of tears in small vessels. The implications for treatment of patients with similar spinal cord symptoms are considered.