[Significance of nuclear magnetic resonance tomography for the diagnosis of degenerative diseases of the lumbar spine].

The authors report on the diagnosis value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diseases of the lumbar spine, assessed on the basis of 960 cases treated at Düsseldorf University Orthopedic clinic since 1982. Diseases can be differentiated by changes in shape (vertebral collapse due to tumors, spondylitides, disk prolapse etc.) as well as by structural and pathomorphologic changes (disk degeneration, upper plate reactions etc.). Seventy-four patients were examined for upper plate reactions, which were detected in particular with the partial saturation and the short-time inversion recovery sequences. On the basis of prospective studies the authors comment on the value of MRI as compared to computerized tomography for diagnosing disk prolapses and disk sequestra. It can be shown that the sensitivity and specificity of MRI are very good.