Assessment of the levels of termination of the conus medullaris and thecal sac in the pediatric population.

Purpose: This study assessed the position of the termination of the conus medullaris (the point where the spinal cord tapers to an end) and thecal sac (the sheath of dura mater that surrounds the spinal cord and caudal nerve roots) in a large pediatric population, to characterise the nature of the pediatric Gaussian distribution and assess whether age affected the distribution. The study further aimed to assess the effect of gender on termination positions.

Methods: A total of 520 MRI spine studies of children aged between 1 month and 19 years old were collected from two pediatric tertiary referral centres in the UK and Italy.