foramen magnum

Posted By shaw on October 01, 1998 at 09:09:35:







hi, it's me the court reporter once again.  okay this time this is like
a game of jeopardy.  i am taking testimony of a neurosurgeon and i was
able to understand his answer fairly ok, however it is the question that
i am having a problem with.  if i jot down the answer, could you help me
figure out what the question is.  i have a feeling that the question is
what is foramen magnum, but my notes do not reflect that.  also if any
part of the answer does not make sense, help me out with suggestions.
here goes the answer:  Where the spinal canal(cord?) enters the skull it
goes through a foramen magnum.  it's a very long hole inot the skull at
the base of the skull, and the spinal cord passes through that hole and the
spinal cord then, in fact, becomes part of the brain, or the brain
becomes a continuation of that.  and congenitally, if that hole is
larger than it should be, many times the contents of the brain on the
other side of the foramen are herniated.

thanx