• STUDY DESIGN
    • A systematic review.
  • OBJECTIVES
    • Conus medullaris syndrome (CMS) and cauda equina syndrome (CES) are well-known neurological entities. It is assumed that these syndromes are different regarding neurological and functional prognosis. However, literature concerning spinal trauma is ambiguous about the exact definition of the syndromes.
  • METHODS
    • A MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane literature search was performed. We included original articles in which clinical descriptions of CMS and/or CES were mentioned in patients following trauma to the thoracolumbar spine.
  • RESULTS
    • Out of the 1046 articles, we identified 14 original articles concerning patients with a traumatic CMS and/or CES. Based on this review and anatomical data from cadaveric and radiological studies, CMS and CES could be more precisely defined.
  • CONCLUSION
    • CMS may result from injury of vertebrae Th12-L2, and it involves damage to neural structures from spinal cord segment Th12 to nerve root S5. CES may result from an injury of vertebrae L3-L5, and it involves damage to nerve roots L3-S5. This differentiation between CMS and CES is necessary to examine the hypothesis that CES patients tend to have a better functional outcome.