[Noninvasive magnetic resonance myelography in patients with lumbosacral intervertebral disk herniation]

For many decades X-ray myelography has remained one of the major diagnostic methods for spinal pathology. With the advent of computed tomography (CT), CT myelography using water-soluble contrast agents has been developed. Visualization of the subarachnoidal spaces of the spinal cord and dural sac without an intrathecal contrast agent has become possible with the emergence of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Its further development and improvement has brought to existence the new noninvasive technique MR myelography based on the suppression of a signal from the medulla and its enhancement from the cerebrospinal fluid-containing spaces. This paper compares routine X-ray myelography, CT myelography, and MR myelography used in the diagnosis of lumbosacral intervertebral disk herniation and assesses the informative value and benefits of MR myelography as a noninvasive diagnostic method for this pathology.