Imaging of Vascular Diseases of the Spinal Cord

Spinal cord vascular diseases are rare but pose a significant diagnostic challenge and can lead to devastating neurologic injury. Timely diagnosis is challenging given their heterogeneous presentations and overlapping features. This article provides an anatomic framework for understanding spinal vascular pathologies, key imaging patterns, and clinical nuances to improve diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment for a variety of conditions including spinal cord ischemia, spinal vascular malformations, spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas, spinal aneurysms, and cerebrospinal fluid venous fistulas.