The MRI diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis in 11 patients

Objective: To explore the value of MRI in the diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis. Methods: The MRI data of 11 patients with spinal tuberculosis diagnosed by operation pathology and paracentesis biopsy were retrospectively analyzed. The MRI signal of spinal tuberculosis was observed.Results: Single vertebral body lesion in 1 case， two vertebral bodies lesion in 2 cases，3 or more than 3 vertebral bodies lesion in 5 cases were found. Bone destruction of all cases were found，bone destruction of vertebral body showed worm bite shape'， jumping lesion in 6 cases were found， the signal of T1 weighted imaging(T1WI) and T2WI were low and high，respectively. The intervertebral disc destruction in 3 cases were found，which showed intervertebral disc deform and losing normal structure， the signal of T1WI and T2WI were low and uneven high， respectively， the involved intervertebral space was narrow. Cold abscess in 4 cases were found， the signal of T1WI and T2WI were low and obviously high， respectively， the enhancement scan wasirregular or ring-shape reinforcement. Conclusions: MRI has high diagnostic value for spinal tuberculosis， especially for multi-part spinal tuberculosis.