Bacterial myelitis

**Definition:** Inflammation of the spinal cord caused by a bacterial organism. Common agents causing bacterial myelitis include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Treponema pallidum, and Brucella.

**Long definition:** An inflammatory disorder of the spinal cord due to a bacterial infection. The symptoms and signs may be acute or subacute in onset, and include paraparesis or paraplegia, sensory loss appropriate with the level of the spinal cord affected, loss of sphincter control, and lower motor neurone signs. Diagnosis may be confirmed by neuroimaging, spinal fluid analysis and culture, and biopsy.