Familial syringomyelia

Summary The clinical and neurological features of four siblings (2 , 2 ) affected by syringomyelia are described. A fifth sister was affected by an acoustic neurinoma. Since neither parent showed signs of syringomyelia, this is considered to be a datum substantiating the dysembryogenetic theory of the syringomyelia syndrome.We are grateful to Dr. M. Savoiardo for his many suggestions and for his interpretation of radiological features. We should like to thank Dr. L. De Lorenzi for allowing us to publish details about patients.