Magnetic resonance imaging in myelopathy: a pictorial review

Myelopathies have multiple causes and broad differential diagnoses, including demyelinating, metabolic, vascular and neoplastic disorders, often with distinctive imaging manifestations. Compressive myelopathy, especially of degenerative and neoplastic origin, is the most common cause of myelopathy, followed by inflammatory disorders such as multiple sclerosis, acute disseminating encephalomyelitis, neuromyelitis optica, and transverse myelitis of other etiologies. An accurate and early diagnosis will guide the treatment and will provide information about the prognosis of the patient. The aim of this review is to illustrate the magnetic resonance imaging features of different etiologies of myelopathy.