Fixed spinal cord: diagnosis with MR imaging

Pulsatile motion of the spinal cord was examined with phase imaging techniques. Sagittal images of the spinal cord were obtained at different times of the cardiac cycle in healthy volunteers, as well as in patients in whom the spinal cord either was tethered, was compressed, or contained an intramedullary lesion. Pulsatile velocity changes of the spinal cord, observed on the phase images, were most marked at the cervical-upper thoracic level. Cord motion was found to be significantly decreased in cases in which the cord was either tethered or compressed. Cord enlargement due to an intramedullary lesion generally did not lead to decreased cord motion. Imaging of pulsatile cord motion may be clinically useful in evaluating diseases restricting cord motion or changing the status of parenchymal compliance.