Transverse Myelitis -- a demyelinating (loss of the fatty tissue around the nerves) disorder of the spinal cord. It may occur alone or in combination with demyelination in other parts of the nervous system. Onset of the disorder is sudden. Symptoms may include low back pain, spinal cord dysfunction, muscle spasms, a general feeling of discomfort, headache, loss of appetite, and numbness or tingling in the legs. Transverse myelitis may be caused by viral infections, spinal cord injuries, immune reactions, or insufficient blood flow through the blood vessels in the spinal cord. It may also occur as a complication of such disorders as optic neuromyelitis, multiple sclerosis, smallpox, measles, or chickenpox.
-- definition from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Transverse Myelitis -- A syndrome, not a disease, in which an acute spinal cord transection of unknown cause affects both gray and white matter in one or more adjacent thoracic segments. Some cases follow nonspecific "viral" illness, which suggests an immune-related pathogenesis; others are associated with vasculitis, or IV use of heroin or amphetamine. Often no cause is found. Sudden local back pain is followed by sensory symptoms and motor weakness ascending from the feet. The defect may progress over several days and is severe, usually with global sensory-motor paraplegia below the lesion, urinary retention, and loss of bowel control. Occasionally, posterior column functions are spared, at least initially. The syndrome occasionally recurs.
-- The Sixteenth Edition of The Merck Manual was published in 1992
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