In which part of the spine do schwannomas normally occur?
The cervical and lumbar spine. Rarely do they occur in the thoracic spine. Unlike meningiomas, which are the contray with 80% in the thoracic spine.
What characteristics on MRI make a lesion more likely to be a schwannoma than a neurofibroma?
Although neurofibromas and schwannomas can look nearly identical, schwannomas are frequently associated with haemorrhage, intrinsic vascular changes (thrombosis; sinusoidal dilatation), cyst formation and fatty degeneration.
Relatively subtle T1 isointense, T2 hyperintense lesion at the L3 vertebral body level in the central canal, which enhances avidly following contrast.
The relatively subtle findings on non-contrast sequences become obvious following contrast. The nature and relationship to the cauda equina and nerve roots are very well delineated on the post-gad sequences.