Flashcards in Imaging of the Spine Deck (31)
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1
Why is the clinical history and examination important in imaging?
Decide which imaging is best
Urgency
2
What are plain films used for in the spine?
Alignment
Sometimes fractures
3
Why do we use MRI in the spine?
Spinal cord
Nerve roots
CSF
Ischaemia
4
Why are the bodies of lumbar vertebrae larger than the others?
Take more weight
5
What foraminae do cervical vertebrae have that others don't?
Transverse foraminae
6
What are the costal facets in the thoracic vertebrae for?
Articulation with ribs
7
What can be accessed via the interlaminar space in the lumbar spine?
Spinal cord via needle
8
What are the features of the lumbar vertebral body in an A-P plain film?
Thin cortical bone
Pedicles look like hollow cylinders
Spinal canal in centres
9
When viewed laterally, what is the direction of the x-ray beam to the lumbar vertebral body in an A-P plain film?
Not entirely tangential
Shows as
- Thick superior cortical margin
- Double line at inferior margin
10
What direction is the x-ray beam in an oblique plain film of the spine?
Parallel to facet joint
45 degrees to body
11
What is the pars interarticularis part of?
Lamina
12
What is the importance of the pars interarticularis?
Thinnest and weakest part
Gets stress fractures
13
Which part of the intervertebral disc usually protrudes: anulus fibrosus or nucleus pulposus?
Nucleus pulposus
14
What is the signal of CSF in a T1 MRI?
Dark
15
What is the signal of CSF in a T2 MRI?
Bright
16
Where does the C1 spinal nerve exit?
Above C1 vertebra
17
Where does the C8 spinal nerve exit?
Below C7 vertebra
18
What is bright on both T1 and T2 MRIs?
Fat
19
What are the advantages of using MRI in the spine?
Shows pathology
20
What are the disadvantages of using MRI in the spine?
Time consuming
Expensive
Hard to access
21
What obscures many structures in the thoracic spine?
Ribs
22
Is irregularity in the endplates of the vertebrae normal or abnormal?
Usually normal in younger people
Can be indicator of pathology
23
Why are disc protrusions more common in the lumbar rather than thoracic spine?
Thoracic spine stabilised by ribs
24
What are the normal curves of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines?
Cervical lordosis
Thoracic kyphosis
Lumbar lordosis
25
What is CT useful for in the spine?
Lumbar disc pathology but not as good as MRI
Bone detail
Complex joints
Multi-planar images
26
Why can the L4 vertebra slip on L5?
Arthritis of facet joint
Defect in lamina = stress fracture
27
What is bone scintigraphy?
Injected technetium emits gamma rays > counted by scanner
28
What takes up technetium?
Osteoblasts
29
What does bone scintigraphy assess?
Vascularity
Osteoblastic activity
30
