Spinal vascular lesions: anatomy, imaging techniques and treatment.
Eur J Radiol Open 2021;
8:100369. [PMID:
34307789 PMCID:
PMC8283341 DOI:
10.1016/j.ejro.2021.100369]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Vascular myelopathies include different aetiology and mechanism of damage.
The level of the lesion and the localization within the SC correlates with the clinical symptoms.
CT, MRI and angiography are essential for diagnosis and treatment playing a complementary role.
MRI is the gold standard for the evaluation of spinal cord lesions.
Spinal angiography is the gold standard for evaluation of spinal cord vasculature and vascular malformations.
Background
Vascular lesions of the spinal cord are rare but potentially devastating conditions whose accurate recognition critically determines the clinical outcome. Several conditions lead to myelopathy due to either arterial ischemia, venous congestion or bleeding within the cord. The clinical presentation varies, according with the different aetiology and mechanism of damage.
Purpose
The aim is to provide a comprehensive review on the radiological features of the most common vascular myelopathies, passing through the knowledge of the vascular spinal anatomy and the clinical aspects of the different aetiologies, which is crucial to promptly address the diagnosis and the radiological assessment.
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