This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Clinical features

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The clinical features of lateral medullary syndrome can be divided into those resulting from brainstem or cerebellar dysfunction:

Cerebellar features:

  • ipsilateral limb ataxia
  • vertigo
  • nystagmus to the side of the lesion - due to damage to the vestibulo-ocular connections

Brain stem features:

  • sudden onset of dizziness and vomiting - due to the involvement of vestibular and vagal nuclei respectively
  • dysphagia and dysarthria - due to lesion to the nucleus ambiguus and vagal nuclei
  • ipsilateral Horner's syndrome
  • ipsilateral facial sensory loss - pain and temperature
  • ipsilateral pharyngeal and laryngeal paralysis - cranial IX and X palsies
  • contralateral sensory loss - pain and temperature of the limbs and trunk

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page