Spinal enostoses (bone islands).

Spinal enostoses are regarded as rare; they have been reported as present in approximately 1% of all spines. We have identified several patients with spinal enostoses in the thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies. Therefore, we have initiated a prospective radiographic and pathologic investigation of enostoses, and we report the occurrence of these lesions in 14 of 100 cadavers (14%). The lesions varied in size from 2 X 2 mm to 6 X 10 mm. They were seen on radiographs of the whole specimen and of specimen sections, but only 29% of radiographs obtained prior to the death of the patient demonstrated such findings.