Surgery for Spinal Chordomas
Chordomas are rare neoplasms arising from remnants of the notochord, an embryonic precursor to the axial skeleton, and can occur anywhere along the spinal axis. 1 They are relatively uncommon…
Craniovertebral Reconstruction after Chordoma Resection
The craniovertebral junction is the region of the neural axis spanning from the foramen magnum of the skull base to the first and second cervical vertebrae (the atlas and axis,…
Frontobasal Approaches to Clival Chordomas
The frontobasal approach is designed to expose strictly extradural lesions of the anterior fossa as well as middle clivus and inferior clivus, with little or no lateral extension. For such…
Evolutionary Origin of the Notochord
The notochord is a mesoderm-derived, rod-shaped organ found in embryos of all chordates that defines the craniocaudal axis of the embryo. Chordates comprise cephalochordates, urochordates, and vertebrates. They probably originated…
Radiation Treatment for Chordomas
Chordomas are rare tumors that arise from remnants of the notochord. They are encountered in the skull base and upper cervical spine or in the sacrum. Skull base chordomas are…
The Descriptive Epidemiology of Chordomas
Chordoma is a rare bony tumor, afflicting approximately 300 persons a year in the United States. 1 These lesions are thought to arise from transformed remnants of the fetal notochord…
