PubReading [20] - Anatomy, Back, Cauda Equina - E. Berg, J. Ashurst.

<p>In 1595, French anatomist <strong>Andre du Laurens</strong> first described the structure of a rope-like tail of fibers at the caudal end of the spinal cord. This bundle of numerous axons was termed the <strong>cauda equina</strong>, from the Latin translation meaning “horse’s tail,” and it contains nerves which innervate both sensory and motor targets within lumbar, sacral, and <strong>coccygeal spinal cord levels</strong>. Epidemiologic assessments regard lesions to the cauda equina as uncommon, with a prevalence of 1 to 3 per 100,000 subjects. Typically caused by a herniated intervertebral disc at the L5-S1 levels, such lesions affect females as often as males and manifest as a number of urogenital and neuromuscular symptoms in the namesake “<strong>cauda equina syndrome</strong>." - StatPearls Publishing -2021</p>