Cervical MRI- ?'s just for educational purposes

[jdcatt]

I've been looking at the MRI of my cervical spine today and I'm really fascinated by it all. The fact that we can look at images from the inside of our bodies is just so cool. :-)

I would like to ask a few questions for anyone that may know the answers. What does movement artifact look like on an MRI of the spine? And would movement artifact show up in the spinal fluid surrounding the spinal cord? Or perhaps the appearance of things in the spinal fluid could be the shadow of the surrounding vertebrae?

The reason I ask is because there is a dark spot near C 6/7 ( I think ) on my MRI that shows up on the STIR images in about 4 or 5 different frames and it appears to be in the spinal fluid. That particular section of the spinal fluid is to dark in the SAG 1 or 2 images so it's not showing. It wasn't mentioned by the radiologist who read my MRI so I'm wondering if what I'm seeing could be movement artifact or shadow? I'm just not sure that movement artifact or shadow could appear in the exact same spot in more than a few frames?

Also, it appears that the spinal cord itself has different parts to it? Parts that run the length of the cord and appear as long streaks of lighter and darker shades? Maybe like veins or something? The cord is made up of both grey and white matter isn't it? Do the grey and white matter appear as different shades of grey on MRI?


Curious I am. :-)

[jdcatt]

Man I'm not with it today. That last sentence in the first paragraph should read

";;;looks one solid color." Sorry about that.

[jdcatt]

Oops, I meant the SAG T1 and T2 images.

[jdcatt]

Excellent guess!! Yep, I have protrusions at those spots. I was wondering if the dark spot could be a part of the C6/7 protrusion but it just looks so much lower in the images to me and I can't tell which images from the axial frames are from that particular area so I can't use those to compare.

It doesn't look like the spot is on the cord to me so I didn't think it could be a lesion hence my question about movement artifact or shadow. That spot has to be something. I'm just surprised that it wasn't mentioned on the report, unless it is part of the C6/7 protrusion. I suppose it could be. It sure doesn't look like it to me though.

Thanks daisy.girl

[jdcatt]

Thanks Bob. So the differing shades of grey on the cord aren't the white and grey matter it's probably more a result of the quality of the MRI itself? Is it typical for the cord to look streaked and kind of blotchy like that on STIR images? I'm guessing the answer is yes because on the SAG 1 and 2 images the cord look

So because the dark spot is appearing as dark on the STIR images that tells me that there is less water content in that particular spot so it has to be a more or less solid type of "thing" in there.

The radiologist did mention focal protrusions on C4/5 and C6/7 on the report as well as spondylitic ridges from C4 through C7. Apparently the C6/7 protrusion is abutting the cord. Maybe it's just me but that dark spot sure looks like it's beneath the protrusion on C6/7. I can see the protrusion at C6/7  really well on some of the frames but that dark spot is beneath it and there is no mention of anything beneath C6/7 on the report.

I'm actually not really happy with this report at all. Abutting is sort of vague and there is no mention as to the mildness or severity of the protrusions or if they are central or off to either side. So I basically know I have two protrusions but that's it. No info on the protrusions themselves. I don't know if this is typical for these kinds of reports, I sure hope not.

Thanks for your help Bob. Much appreciated! :-)

[COBOB]

The Neurologist or Radiologist should look at the spot you mentioned. If it is the same on you are seeing, it is on the anterior side of the cord at about just below the disk bulge at C5-C6.
They need to look at other views and techniques to see if this is a lesion.  

It is pretty hard to read lesions in a jpg file.  The images provided from the MRI are DICOM imaged that can be windowed and leveled to bring out specific detail.  

[daisy.girl]

I looked at your images. Do you have a report that goes with this?

To my uneducated eyes, it looks like you have two herinated disc, one at C5-6 and C6-7 That is the dark area you are seeing in the the spinal fluid....it is the disc pushing into the CSF toward the spinal cord.

The images are not clear enough to see if there is any lesions or areas of hyperintensity in the cord itself.

[COBOB]

Movement artifact shows up as "smudges."  The spinal cord has both grey matter and white matter.  You have to keep in mind that more water shows up bright on T2 or STIR images.  The difference between grey matter and white matter is on physical inspection, not MRI.  In MRI, it is difficult to visualize grey matter and its diseases like ALS.  Grey matter contains dendrites where white matter does not.

[jdcatt]

I added a few of the pics of my MRI to my profile to show what I mean in case I wasn't making any sense. :-)