[Appearance of fresh vertebral body fractures on the bone scintigram]

Based on observations on 27 patients technetium-99m-diphosphonate scintigram is recommended as two-stage-investigation. During the first 12 hours no activity and up to 48 hours only slight activity can be seen in contrast to a marked take-up of the tracer after 6 to 8 days. This enables a timing of the fracture, which can be of importance in compensation and legal disputes.