How to Read a Cervical MRI

Spine ConferenceUpper Chesapeake Medical Center

Friday May 1, 2015

Earth surface has 25-65 microtesla

Elemental composition

Equipment

Magnet Gradient Coil RF Coil

RF Coil

4T magnet

gradient coil(inside)

B0

Sagittally oriented safranin-O–stainedsections of an adult human lumbar intervertebraldisk (top) and a degenerated intervertebral disk(bottom). Disk matrix stains purple and collagenblue. In the adult disk, the peripheral annulus fibrosus,containing collagen, stains blue (arrowhead).The inner annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus,containing GAGs, stains purple. The central portionof the nucleus pulposus, where reticulin, collagen,and elastin fibers are located, stains faintly blue.The degenerated disk has lost purple-staining GAGsfrom the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus. Itconforms to Pfirrmann grade IIII degeneration.

c2c3

c2c3

c3c4

c3c4

c4

c4c5

c5c6

c5c6

c6c7

c6c7

c6c7

77 year old woman with h/o hand weakness/numbness/ataxiaPrior acdf 14 years ago

Cephalomedullary angle 135-175

48 year old man with right fifth finger pain and numbess

S/P C7T1ACDF

persistent symptoms of ataxia, neck pain, fine motor hand dysfunction

47 year old woman with 6 month h/o neck stiffness and pain with left UE paresthesias intoThe elbow forearm and hand especially IF/thumb

Note:the black line directly posterior to the vertebral bodies and relativeThinning of spinal cord, note normal disc height

C3

C3C4

C4C5

C4C5

C4C5

C5C6

C6C7

C7T1

Mid-sagittal diameter: width1:5 ratio leads to necrosis of gray matter• Ogino H: Canal diameter, anteroposterior compression ratio

and spondylotic myelopathy of the cervical spine. Spine 1983; 8:1-15• Cord compression causes ischemia and direct mechanical

trauma

Thanks

• Raymond Damadian from Downstate NY published an article in Science 1971 on a technique to differentiate cancer and nomral cells with an MRI. He filed the first USP patent for an MRI on 3/17/72’ he created the first Mri machine

Peter Lauterburchemist at Universtiy of Illinois

created and published the first MRI image of a living mouse in 1973

• Physicist Peter Mansfield of the Universtiy of Nottingham developed a mathemantical technique to refine inages

20033

• Wilhem Rontgen 1845-1923• 1895 xray discovery• German physicist• Expelled from high school for

refusing to reveal a classmate who created a disparaging drawing of a teacher