Radiculopathy

Radiculopathy is a disorder caused by irritation or compression of a spinal nerve root. It can produce radiating pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness along the affected nerve’s path.

Spinal nerve: A nerve formed by the union of sensory and motor roots emerging from the spinal cord. A compressed root can disrupt the signals carried by the spinal nerve it helps form.
Cervical radiculopathy: Radiculopathy caused by irritation or compression of a nerve root in the neck. It commonly produces pain or altered sensation radiating into an arm.
Peripheral neuropathy: Damage or dysfunction affecting nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, often in a widespread or length-dependent pattern. Its distribution often differs from the single-root pattern of radiculopathy.
Intervertebral disc: A fibrocartilaginous structure between adjacent vertebrae that cushions and supports spinal movement. Disc changes can narrow the space around roots or allow material to protrude toward them.
Nerve root: A bundle of sensory or motor nerve fibers connecting a spinal nerve to the spinal cord. Radiculopathy begins where a spinal nerve root is irritated or compressed.
Lumbar radiculopathy: Radiculopathy caused by irritation or compression of a nerve root in the lower back. It can cause symptoms radiating from the back into a leg.
Plexopathy: A disorder affecting a nerve plexus, a network formed by interweaving spinal nerves. Plexus disease can resemble radiculopathy but affects a different part of the nerve pathway.
Intervertebral foramen: An opening between neighboring vertebrae through which a spinal nerve exits the spinal canal. Nerve-root compression often occurs as the root passes through this opening.
Dermatome: An area of skin whose sensation is supplied mainly by one spinal nerve root. Root irritation can cause sensory symptoms in the dermatome linked to that root.
Herniated disc: A condition in which disc material extends beyond the disc’s usual boundary. A herniated disc can press on a nearby nerve root and cause radiculopathy.

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