Intramedullary spinal cord tumors are a subtype of intradural spinal tumor that develops from cells within the spinal cord rather than adjacent structures like the nerve roots or meninges. They are far less common than brain tumors and are assumed to account for 5-10% of all intrinsic central nervous system tumors. Their most common symptom is back pain, which is clinically difficult to differentiate from back pain caused by musculoskeletal conditions. Most intramedullary spinal cord tumors are glial in origin because they are histologically and immunohistochemically equivalent to differentiated non-neuronal cell types found in nonpathological spinal cord tissue, such as ependymal cells and astrocytes. Since many of these tumors grow slowly, symptoms usually appear two years before diagnosis. Most people with schwannomas only have one, but it’s possible to have more. Multiple schwannomas are usually a result of schwannomatosis. This is the least common type of a rare condition called neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors in the nervous system. Another form, called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), can also cause schwannomas.