[Nuclear magnetic resonance tomography in destructive changes of the spine]

Correct treatment of destructive lesions in the vertebral column requires exact radiological evaluation with the traditional techniques of plain films, computed tomography and radionuclide scanning. With the development of magnetic resonance imaging the possibility of visualizing pathological changes of the bone marrow became apparent. To prove the value of MRJ in detecting destructive lesions of the spine 29 patients were investigated using plain radiographs, computertomographies, radionuclide scanning and MRJ. The findings were correlated to the intraoperative aspect of the lesion and the results of the histological investigation in 18 cases. MRJ showed to be a very sensitive manner of detecting bone marrow changes of different kind. Indeed characteristic changes in signal intensity were not to be observed in pathological lesions of inflammatory or tumorous genesis. So the distinction is based on morphological criterias.