Transverse Myelitis: Diagnosis

A doctor will suspect transverse myelitis in any patient with a rapid onset of paralysis. Medical history, physical examination, brain and spinal cord scans, myelogram, spinal tap, and blood tests are used to rule out other neurological causes of symptoms, such as a tumor. If none of these tests suggest a cause for the symptoms, the patient is presumed to have transverse myelitis.

— Carol A. Turkington