Acquired coronal cleft vertebra

Five patients with acquired coronal clefts in lower lumbar vertebral bodies are presented. The appearances on plain radiographs, skeletal scintigraphy, discography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are described. The aetiological factors are discussed with particular emphasis on the role of the intervertebral disc and the discovertebral junction in the pathomechanics of vertebral body injury. Magnetic resonance imaging was helpful in the radiological assessment and provided information from which an explanation of the clefts could be proposed.