PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - D W Chakeres
AU  - F Flickinger
AU  - J C Bresnahan
AU  - M S Beattie
AU  - K L Weiss
AU  - C Miller
AU  - B T Stokes
TI  - MR imaging of acute spinal cord trauma.
DP  - 1987 Jan 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 5--10
VI  - 8
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/8/1/5.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/8/1/5.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.1987 Jan 01; 8
AB  - The thoracic spinal cords of five mongrel dogs were imaged with a 1.5 T MR scanner before and after trauma induced by a well-established method of spinal cord impaction that produces central cord hemorrhagic necrosis. The anesthetized dogs were studied acutely with a 5-in. circular surface coil, 12-cm field of view, sagittal and axial partial-saturation (TR = 600, TE = 25 msec) and spin-echo (TR = 2000, TE = 25-100 msec) techniques. One normal dog was used as a control. The cords were surgically removed and histologically examined. Direct correlation of the pathologic findings and imaging data showed that at the level of trauma there was obliteration of epidural fat and CSF spaces secondary to central cord hemorrhage and edema. The traumatized cords expanded to fill the bony canal, and there was loss of visualization of the internal anatomy of the cord (gray- and white-matter structures). We conclude that MR can accurately identify cord hemorrhage and edema within a few hours of spinal trauma.