syringomyelia

(si-ring"go-mi-e'lI-ah) [G. syrinx, pipe, + myelos, marrow.] The presence of cavities in the spinal cord due to the breaking down of gliomatous new-formations; it is marked clinically by pain and paresthesia followed by muscular atrophy of the hands; there is analgesia with thermoanesthesia of the hands and arms, but the tactile sense is preserved. Later painle whitlows are seen, spastic paralysis appears in the lower extremities, and scoliosis of the lumbar spine occurs.