RESUMO
MR imaging technology has made it possible to detect and characterize a number of pathological changes in the vicinity of the vertebral canal a noninvasive manner. The method is characterized by high sensitivity and specificity. It has two basic advantages in comparison to computer-assisted X-ray tomography (CT):
- the ability to image the structure of the vertebral canal directly along planes selected by the operator.
- signal intensity in the constituent structures of the vertebral canal, structures adjacent to the vertebral canal, and pathological changes sufficiently differentiated that the injection of contrasting media into the fluid spaces is not necessary.
These two features of the MR technique have made it the technology of choice in the diagnostics of disorders in the vertebral canal.
