Dural ectasia is a widening or ballooning of the dural

Dura mater

The dura mater , or dura, is the outermost of the three layers of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is derived from Mesoderm. The other two meningeal layers are the pia mater and the arachnoid mater. The dura surrounds the brain and the spinal cord and is responsible for...

 sac surrounding the spinal cord

Spinal cord

The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...

 usually at the lumbosacral level. It is one of the major manifestations of Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. People with Marfan's tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers....

. It may cause low back pain

Low back pain

Low back pain or lumbago is a common musculoskeletal disorder affecting 80% of people at some point in their lives. In the United States it is the most common cause of job-related disability, a leading contributor to missed work, and the second most common neurological ailment — only headache is...

, headache

Headache

A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...

s and neurological signs such as weakness

Weakness

Weakness is a symptom represented, medically, by a number of different conditions, including: lack of muscle strength, malaise, dizziness, or fatigue. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a...

 and loss of bowel and bladder

Urinary bladder

The urinary bladder is the organ that collects urine excreted by the kidneys before disposal by urination. A hollow muscular, and distensible organ, the bladder sits on the pelvic floor...

 function, but in many patients it is asymptomatic. It is also a cause of posterior vertebral scalloping present in radiographs in patients who are diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis.

Dural ectasia may also manifest in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Ehlers–Danlos syndrome is a group of inherited connective tissue disorders, caused by a defect in the synthesis of collagen . The collagen in connective tissue helps tissues to resist deformation...

, Neurofibromatosis

Neurofibromatosis

Neurofibromatosis is a genetically-inherited disorder in which the nerve tissue grows tumors that may be benign or may cause serious damage by compressing nerves and other tissues...

, and cauda equina syndrome

Cauda equina syndrome

Cauda equina syndrome ' is a serious neurologic condition in which there is acute loss of function of the lumbar plexus, neurologic elements of the spinal canal below the termination of the spinal cord.-Causes:...

 in ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...

.