Lateral intermediate substance

Looks like

The small side horn of grey matter in the spinal cord, present from the first thoracic to the second lumbar level.

What it does

Holds the first nerve cells of the sympathetic system, sending fibres out to the sympathetic chain.

Keeping it well

Cord injury above it causes low blood pressure or dangerous blood-pressure surges (autonomic dysreflexia).

Related conditions

• Amyloidosis (AL and ATTR)
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• B12 & folate deficiency
• Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
• Botulism
• Chiari malformation and syringomyelia
• Chickenpox (varicella)
• Chronic neuropathic pain
• Chronic pain syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Friedreich's ataxia
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Lyme disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Myasthenia gravis
• Neck pain and cervical spondylosis
• Neurogenic bladder
• Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Poliomyelitis
• Rabies
• Restless legs syndrome
• Shingles (herpes zoster)
• Spina bifida & neural tube defects
• Spinal cord injury
• Spinal muscular atrophy
• Tetanus
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Vitamin B1, C and other deficiencies