Technical Name for Spinal Cord Bruising
The technical term for spinal cord bruising is spinal cord contusion 1, 2.
Definition and Pathophysiology
Spinal cord contusion represents one of the two major types of traumatic spinal cord injury, distinct from complete transection 1. This injury involves:
- Direct mechanical trauma to the spinal cord parenchyma without complete anatomical disruption 1
- Intramedullary hemorrhage (hematomyelia) within the cord substance, which is a hallmark feature of contusive injury 3, 4
- Associated edema extending along multiple spinal segments, which correlates with injury severity 5
Clinical Significance
The presence and extent of spinal cord contusion has important prognostic implications:
- Intramedullary hemorrhage on MRI is associated with clinically complete spinal cord injury and worse neurological outcomes 5
- Extended segments of edema on imaging correlate with more severe neurological deficits 5
- The magnitude of hemorrhage within the contused cord relates to the degree of secondary inflammatory damage, including neutrophil recruitment and blood-spinal cord barrier disruption 6
Imaging Characteristics
On MRI, traumatic spinal cord contusions demonstrate:
- Focal areas of intramedullary signal abnormality representing hemorrhage and edema 3
- T1 hypointensity in acute hemorrhagic contusions 3
- Variable enhancement patterns depending on the age of injury 3
- Associated spinal cord swelling in the acute phase 3
Distinction from Other Terminology
While "spinal cord bruising" is colloquial terminology, the precise medical term "spinal cord contusion" should be used in clinical documentation to distinguish it from other forms of spinal cord hemorrhage such as epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, or isolated hematomyelia from vascular malformations 4.