Aspergillosis involving the thoracic spinal cord--an autopsy case-Japan Hamaya K, Nose S, Muguruma M, Nakagawa M, Yasuda H. Anatomic Pathology, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, Japan. A 63 year old male complained of persistent backache and productive cough. The chest X-ray revealed the fungus ball at the left apical-posterior segment and Aspergillus fumigatus was cultured from the sputum. He was treated on fulconazole and miconazole. Six months later, motor and sensory paralysis below the mamillary level and urinary and stool incontinence developed. A magnetic resonance image disclosed the destruction of the second thoracic spinal vertebra involved by the cavitated fungus ball of the left lung. Continuous peroral administration of antifungal drugs was not successful, and he expired with severe dyspnea. The autopsy revealed an extensive granulomatous and purulent change of the epidural and subdural spaces of the second to fifth thoracic spinal cord. Subdural inflammation extended to the lower thoracic and lower cervical level. Thoracic spinal cord revealed an extensive myelomalacia predominantly involving the left lateral white column, and also anterior and posterior columns. Small areas of the white matter were cystic. The left anterior horn cells revealed severe central chromatolysis. Moderate lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltration was found around the vessels within the cord. A few thrombi were found in the vein near the anterior nerve root. Central nervous system involvement of pulmonary aspergillosis is quite uncommon. However, there are a few reports of patients with paraplegia secondary to the spinal extension by aspergillus infection. Sheth et al. described that epidural and subdural granulomatous change with aspergillus abscesses and spinal cord myelomalacia is comparable to metastatic carcinoma. However, the aspergillus infection in the spinal cord is more extensive and destructive.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)