Presentation
Chronic neck pain.
Patient Data
Straightened cervical spine with preserved alignment. Multilevel disc dessication.
C3-C4 and C4-C5 central posterior disc protrusions indenting ventral thecal sac without any neural foraminal narrowing.
C5-C6 disc right paracentral posterior annular tear, extrusion and caudal subligamentous migration up to C6-C7 disc, indenting ventral thecal sac, narrowing both neural foraminae.
C6-C7 disc posterior bulge with left lateral tilt indenting ventral thecal sac, narrowing both neural foraminae (L>>>R).
Normal spinal cord. Normal cervicomedullary junction. Normal pre and paravertebral soft tissues.
Case Discussion
Imperative to distinguish a bulge from a protrusion and an extrusion. This case demonstrates all three at different levels.