The intersegmental anastomoses between spinal nerve roots

Frequency and morphological characteristics of the intersegmental anastomoses between the spinal roots were investigated in 100 adult spinal cords from the cervical to lumbar segments. The frequencies of dorsal root anastomoses were 61, 7, and 22% of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar cords, respectively. On the other hand, the incidence of anastomosis between the ventral roots was significantly low in both the cervical (10%) and lumbar (5%) cords as compared with that between the dorsal roots in these regions (P less than .01). No anastomotic connections were found in the thoracic ventral roots. The anastomoses were classified into four types: types A and B; the borders between the spinal segments were cranially and caudally shifted, respectively; type C, anastomosis attached to the spinal cord at the border between the segments; and type D, anastomosis bridged between the adjacent rootlets and coursing parallel to the cord. The proportions of the four types at each spinal level disclosed that type A was most commonly observed compared with the other three types in the dorsal roots (P less than .01). In the lumbar cord, the proportion of type C anastomosis between the dorsal roots increases noticeably toward the sacral level, while a complementary decrease occurred in type A. In the cervical ventral roots, types C and D predominated over the other two types (P less than .01). The lumbar ventral roots contained types B and/or C. Type D anastomosis occurred exclusively in the cervical segments.