The spinal canal is the anatomic casing for the spinal cord. The spinal cord extends in the adult from the top of the Atlas (first vertebrae) to the lower border of the first lumbar vertebrae (L1). There it divides into many different nerve roots, which are called Cauda equina. The spinal cord is enclosed in a rather stiff dural sheath, called Dura mater spinalis (thickness ~2mm). The space between dura and vertebral body is called epidural space. It is filled with ligaments (Ligamentum flavum, Ligamentum longitudinale posterius), fat tissue and a plexus venosus internus, which provides the venous drainage for the individual vertebrae of the spinal column. Consequently, PADeMIS has only a limited space (4-15 mm diameter) inside the epidural space. PADeMIS has to produce as much as 2N in order to generate a forward motion.

For morphometry, the different components of the epidural space have to be measured with defined accuracy. Presently, preparations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed X-ray Tomography (CT) scans of humans, dogs and pigsare analysed for this purpose.

L2 of a dog (axial projection).	Plexus vertebralis anterior of a dog

Dorsal view of the spinal canal of a dog.

Overview of the spinal canal

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