MRI appearance of disseminated osseous tuberculosis

Disseminated osseous tuberculosis is a rare disease. This is a report of two cases of disseminated osseous tuberculosis imaged with MRI at 1.5-T, CT, plain radiography and bone scintigraphy. CT and plain radiography demonstrated either highly destructive or cystic lesions with sclerotic margins. Bone scintigraphy and plain radiography were quite insensitive in detecting areas of involvement compared to MRI. On MRI the abnormal areas had short T-1 relaxation values, which is an atypical appearance for bony infections, and prolonged T-2 relaxation values. The reason for the T-1 relaxation behavior is uncertain. MRI also provided delineation of epidural extent.