A STUDY OF THE SPINAL FLUID PRESSURE IN THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES OF THE SPINAL CORD

Abstract

The introduction of the lumbar manometric test¹of the spinal fluid in the differential diagnosis of diseases of the spinal cord has led to a striking contrast in both the number of laminectomies performed and the pathologic processes found as compared with a similar period before this test had become a routine procedure. Many conditions formerly diagnosed as multiple sclerosis or other inoperable diseases of the spinal cord have been shown to be tumors of the spinal cord or other pathologic processes remediable by neurologic surgery. It is significant that during the three years from 1920 to 1922 inclusive, before the routine introduction of the lumbar manometric test, forty-three laminectomies were performed at the Neurological Institute; whereas during the years from 1924 to 1926 inclusive, when this test had become a routine procedure, ninety-four laminectomies were performed, an increase of 116 per cent. In each of these two three-year