Evaluation of spinal bone changes in patients with chronic renal failure by CT and MR imaging with pathologic correlation.

To investigate bone changes in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), bone mineral density (BMD) and T1 relaxation times were measured with CT and MR imaging and the results were correlated to histology. Excised lumbar vertebrae from 25 autopsy cases of CRF (18 males and 7 females), including 12 cases in which the patients had been receiving hemodialysis were examined. BMD and T1 relaxation time values were associated with specific histologic findings for cellularity, trabeculae, and peritrabecular fibrosis. Three vertebrae with low BMD showed increased hematopoietic marrow content, a finding not observed in primary osteoporosis. The vertebrae with osteosclerosis showed prolonged T1 relaxation time, which was due to increased amount of hematopoietic marrow, and the presence of thickened or many small irregular trabeculae or peritrabecular fibrosis. These findings may be useful in the evaluation of bone changes in patients with CRF.