| Anterior median fissure of spinal cord | |
| Latin: | fissura mediana anterior medullae spinalis |
The anterior median fissure of the spinal cord is a deep midline groove of the anterior/ventral spinal cord.[1] It divides the white matter of the anterior spinal cord nearly in two. The spinal pia mater extends into the fissure to line the surfaces of the spinal cord.
It has an average depth of about 3 mm, but this is increased in the lower part of the spinal cord. It contains a double fold of pia mater. Its floor is formed by a transverse band of white matter - the anterior white commissure - which is perforated by blood vessels on their way to or from the central part of the spinal cord.
The anterior median fissure provides a groove in which the anterior spinal artery sits.
The anterior median fissure may be identified on computerized tomography (CT) myelograms, but more commonly on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The AMF has a characteristic appearance on MRI scans that differs from the MRI appearance of the central canal.
Tomsick T, Peak E, Wang L: Fluid-Signal Structures in the Cervical Spinal Cord on MRI: Anterior Median Fissure vs. Central Canal. AJNR 2017; 38:840–45
Oichi Y, Hanakita J, Takahashi T, Minami M, Kawakoa T, et al.: Morphological patterns of the anterior median fissure in the cervical spinal cord evaluated by computed tomography after myelography. Neurospine 2018; 15:388-393
Tomsick T, Wang L, Zuccarello M, Ringer AJ. Fluid-signal structures in the cervical spinal cord on MRI in Chiari patients: Central canal or anterior median fissure? AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2021 Apr;42(4):801-806. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A7046. Epub 2021 Mar 11.PMID 33707286