Lumbar Spinal Imaging in Radicular Pain and Related Conditions: Understanding Diagnostic Images in a Clinical Context

A consensus exists,that lumbosacral nerve root compression is the primary cause of sciatica and neurogenic claudication, although humoral and vascular factors certainly play a role as well. This book examines how nerve root compression can occur and determines which anatomic features are reliably associated with producing radicular pain. After a discussion of the nature of radicular pain and related symptoms, spinal imaging techniques and options are reviewed, emphasizing the role of MR myelography in assessing intradural nerve roots. A chapter on normal topographic, sectional, and functional radiologic anatomy is followed by presentations on pathologic anatomy, addressing mechanisms of nerve root compression, and pre-and postoperative imaging. Features relevant to the prediction of natural history are discussed, and a section is devoted to the performance and reporting of a spinal imaging study.