Prenatal growth of the human spinal cord

Abstract

Text is the complete Introduction section of this thesis: In human embryology the changes in form and the histological differentiation in the cellular elements of the spinal cord have been studied very carefully. But as yet little has been done on the absolute and relative prenatal growth of the cords a whole and of its various regions and parts. To throw light upon this matter the present study was undertaken. Measurements were made of the spinal cords of human embryos which show the absolute and relative growth of the spinal cord as a whole and of its various parts. The data here presented include: First, the absolute and relative growth of the spinal cord in its entirety; second, the absolute and relative amounts and the rate of growth of the different regions of the cord; and third, the absolute and relative amounts and the rate of growth of the gray matter, the white matter and the ependyma with the canal. This investigation was carried on in the Anatomical Laboratory of the University of Missouri, under the direction of Prof. C. M. Jackson, to whom I am also indebted for the use of his collection of human embryos.