label: Tethered cord
label_lc: tethered cord
description: "During normal embryological development, the spinal cord first occupies the entire length of the vertebral column but goes on to assume a position at the level of L1 due to differential growth of the conus medullaris and the vertebral column. The filum terminale is a slender, threadlike structure that remains after the normal regression of the distal embryonic spinal cord and attaches the spinal cord to the coccyx. A tethered cord results if there is a thickened rope-like filum terminale which anchors the cord at the level of L2 or below, potentially causing neurologic signs owing to abnormal tension on the spinal cord."