Draped curtain sign (photograph)

Case contributed by Ian Bickle
Diagnosis not applicable

Presentation

For illustration purposes.

Photo

The characteristic appearance of draped curtains, with an apex superiorly.

Case Discussion

The curtain sign (or draped curtain sign) in neuroimaging refers to the appearance of a vertebral body mass that extends to the anterior epidural space.

If a vertebral body lesion extends posteriorly to the anterior epidural space, it displaces the posterior longitudinal ligament. However this is limited by that strong medial fixation, giving a bilobular intracanalar aspect in the axial images, which is commonly called curtain sign (or draped curtain sign).

Photograph courtesy of Roger Bickle, Melton Mowbray, UK.

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