A build-up of water within body tissues, essentially “waterlogging”. It may be seen as swollen ankles in elderly people with a degree of heart failure, or even in healthy people after long-haul flights. The brain may also become swollen with oedema following a head injury or stroke. The spinal cordThe main nerve trunk running down the spinal canal and connecting the individual’s mind and consciousness to the rest of his or her body. It is about the size of a person’s little finger, in diameter. It cannot repair itself if damaged. may appear oedematous on MR imaging above or below a syringomyeliaA cavity, within the spinal cord, which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Syringomyelia cavities come in various “shapes and sizes”, from short, spindle-shaped cavities through to long, tense cavities extending throughout the greater part of the spinal cord. Read more cavity. A volume of “pre-syrinx” oedema in the spinal cordThe main nerve trunk running down the spinal canal and connecting the individual’s mind and consciousness to the rest of his or her body. It is about the size of a person’s little finger, in diameter. It cannot repair itself if damaged. may foretell its likely evolution into a syringomyeliaA cavity, within the spinal cord, which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Syringomyelia cavities come in various “shapes and sizes”, from short, spindle-shaped cavities through to long, tense cavities extending throughout the greater part of the spinal cord. Read more cavity.