Clinical Assessment of the Spine Focused Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Clinical Assessment of the Spine Focused Deck (10)
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1
Q

Name the 7 most commonly used diagnostic imaging tools.

A
X-ray
Tomography
Myelography
Discography
CT 
MRI
Bone scans
2
Q

Briefly describe x-ray.

A

X-rays are like a different form of light that is so strong it goes through you. They shoot some of these X-rays through you and they hit a spot that has a material similar to an old camera’s film that picks up X-rays instead of normal light. It’s like a picture.

3
Q

Briefly describe myelography.

A

Was the gold standard for spine investigation but has been mostly replaced by CT and MRI.

4
Q

Briefly describe discography.

A

Under local anaesthetic radio-opaque contrast medium is injected into the disc. This has two applications:

  1. Enable physician to visualize any defect with the disc.
  2. The increase in pressure from the injection can cause the patient to experience their usual pain symptoms.
5
Q

Briefly describe CT.

A

CT scans are just like X-rays but more high-tech. It’s a lot of X-ray pictures put together to make a 3D image.

6
Q

Briefly describe MRI.

A

It uses a HUUUGE and really strong magnet. When your body gets exposed to such a huge magnetic field, all of the atoms in your body get “lined up” with it. The magnet changes the angle a little bit and this causes the atoms to create a little magnetic field of their own, and that gets picked up by the machine and interpreted as an image.

7
Q

What’s the difference between T1 and T2 weighted images?

A

T1 - dark CSF - used to demonstrate normal anatomy.

T2 - white CSF - used to demonstrate pathology

8
Q

Which imaging modality would be the best for viewing bony changes or abnormalities?

A

MRI - gives visualization of both bony anatomy and pathology.

9
Q

Which imaging modality would be the best for viewing soft tissue changes, diseases or abnormalities?

A

MRI

10
Q

Which condition would an oblique x-ray be used to diagnose?

A

A fractured pars interarticularis.