Presentation
Back pain.
Patient Data
· Normal dimensions of dorsal spinal canal.
· No dorsal disc herniation or significant bulge.
· Intact dorsal neural exit foramina.
· Normal size and signal of the dorsal spinal cord.
· T1-WI demonstrates mildly diffusely reduced signal of the bone marrow.
· No para-spinal soft tissue lesions.
Case Discussion
This is an example of a normal MRI of the dorsal spine.
There are mildly reduced signal of the bone marrow on T1 WI, which could represent hematopoietic hyperplasia. This can occur in non-pathological circumstances as in endurance athletes, in which there is an increased oxygen requirement.
Also, hematopoietic hyperplasia might be seen in certain diseases like chronic anemia, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and hereditary spherocytosis. Other conditions in which there is marrow hyperplasia include chronic illness, heavy smoking, and obesity.