Dural ectasia

What it means

A widening or ballooning of the dural sac surrounding the spinal cord usually at the lumbosacral level.

Dural ectasia is one of the major manifestations of Marfan syndrome. It may cause low back pain, headaches and neurological signs such as weakness and loss of bowel and bladder function, but in many patients it is asymptomatic. It is also a cause of posterior vertebral scalloping present in radiographs in patients who are diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis. Dural ectasia may also manifest in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, cauda equina syndrome and in ankylosing spondylitis.

Rare diseases that can present with this6

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category