Which condition is described as a non-painful, asymmetrical paralysis due to a spinal cord infarction?

Which condition is described as a non-painful, asymmetrical paralysis due to a spinal cord infarction?

• A. Exertional rhabdomyolysis
• B. Nutritional Myopathy
• C. Schiff-Sherrington posture
• D. Fibrocartilaginous Embolism

Answer: (D)

This item is about recognizing fibrocartilaginous embolism as a cause of spinal cord infarction. The defining feature is an abrupt, focal loss of motor function that is non-painful and often asymmetrical. The problem arises when fibrocartilaginous material from an intervertebral disc enters the bloodstream and lodges in spinal arteries, cutting off blood supply to a segment of the spinal cord. That ischemic injury produces sudden paralysis that is not accompanied by pain, and the deficits can be unilateral or clearly asymmetric, depending on which blood vessels are affected. Exertional rhabdomyolysis, by contrast, involves muscle breakdown after strenuous activity and presents with muscle pain, swelling, and weakness rather than a focal spinal deficit. Nutritional myopathy causes generalized weakness from vitamin or mineral deficiencies and typically shows a symmetric, diffuse pattern rather than a sudden, focal spinal event. Schiff-Sherrington posture is a postural sign of severe spinal injury or brain involvement, characterized by rigid extension of the forelimbs due to loss of inhibitory input, rather than describing a non-painful, asymmetrical spinal infarct.

This item is about recognizing fibrocartilaginous embolism as a cause of spinal cord infarction. The defining feature is an abrupt, focal loss of motor function that is non-painful and often asymmetrical. The problem arises when fibrocartilaginous material from an intervertebral disc enters the bloodstream and lodges in spinal arteries, cutting off blood supply to a segment of the spinal cord. That ischemic injury produces sudden paralysis that is not accompanied by pain, and the deficits can be unilateral or clearly asymmetric, depending on which blood vessels are affected.

Exertional rhabdomyolysis, by contrast, involves muscle breakdown after strenuous activity and presents with muscle pain, swelling, and weakness rather than a focal spinal deficit. Nutritional myopathy causes generalized weakness from vitamin or mineral deficiencies and typically shows a symmetric, diffuse pattern rather than a sudden, focal spinal event. Schiff-Sherrington posture is a postural sign of severe spinal injury or brain involvement, characterized by rigid extension of the forelimbs due to loss of inhibitory input, rather than describing a non-painful, asymmetrical spinal infarct.