[Syringomyelia: correlation of magnetic resonance tomographic and clinical findings before and after surgery].

A comparison between clinical and MRI findings in 20 patients with syringomyelia produced the following results: 1. The position and extent of the syrinx do not correspond with the clinical findings. 2. Successfully operated syringomyelia cavities collapse in their sagittal diameters. The resulting oval shape of the syrinx can be used to evaluate shunt insufficiency. 3. In almost half of the patients, the diameter of the spinal cord is within the 95th percentile of normal controls and would therefore not have been diagnosed by myelography. 4. Anomalies of the cranio-cervical junction were present in only one-third of the patients. This finding does not support the hypothesis that syringomyelia is caused by hydrodynamic factors only.