Articles
Articles are a collaborative effort to provide a single canonical page on all topics relevant to the practice of radiology. As such, articles are written and continuously improved upon by countless contributing members. Our dedicated editors oversee each edit for accuracy and style. Find out more about articles.
740 results found
Article
Abscess
Abscesses are focal confined collections of suppurative inflammatory material and can be thought of as having three components 1:
a central core consisting of necrotic inflammatory cells and local tissue
peripheral halo of viable neutrophils
surrounded by a 'capsule' with dilated blood vessel...
Article
Accessory ossicle of the anterior arch of the atlas
The accessory ossicle of the anterior arch of the atlas is a normal variant and is best appreciated on a lateral cervical/sagittal study. It is observed as a circular and corticated osseous density that articulates with the inferior aspect of the anterior arch of the atlas.
It is not associate...
Article
Achondroplasia
Achondroplasia is a congenital genetic disorder resulting in rhizomelic dwarfism and is the most common skeletal dysplasia. It has numerous distinctive radiographic features.
Epidemiology
It occurs due to sporadic mutations in the majority of cases but can be inherited as an autosomal dominan...
Article
Acrodysotosis
Acrodysotosis, also known as Arkless-Graham syndrome, Maroteaux-Malamut syndrome or acrodysplasia, is a rare genetic disorder affecting bone growth.
Epidemiology
The true incidence is not known. There is no known gender predilection. The condition is often detected in early childhood.
Clinica...
Article
Acute flaccid myelitis
Acute flaccid myelitis is an uncommon cause of acute flaccid paralysis similar to poliomyelitis, primarily affecting children and usually seen following a respiratory viral illness.
Epidemiology
Acute flaccid myelitis primarily affects children. Cases appear to be temporally related to respi...
Article
Acute spinal cord ischemia syndrome
Acute spinal cord ischemia syndrome is uncommon, but usually presents with profound neurological signs and symptoms, and the prognosis is poor.
Epidemiology
Acute spinal cord ischemia syndrome represents only 5-8% of acute myelopathies 4,5 and <1% of all strokes 7. The demographic of affected...
Article
Adjacent level ossification
Adjacent level ossification is a complication of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with anterior plate stabilization. It represents pathological heterotopic ossification of the soft tissues above or below the ends of the plate, contiguous with the adjacent vertebral body. It occurs ...
Article
Adjacent segment degeneration
Adjacent segment degeneration or adjacent level disease is a common complication of spinal fusion occurring at the adjacent unfused level above or below the fused segment.
Epidemiology
It is usually encountered in the cervical spine or lumbar spine and occurs with an incidence of 2-4% per year...
Article
Adrenomyeloneuropathy
Adrenomyeloneuropathy is a form of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy characterized by pronounced involvement of the spinal cord with only minor involvement of the cerebral white matter.
Clinical presentation
Clinical presentation depends on whether or not there is also cerebral involvement.
In ...
Article
Aggressive vertebral hemangioma
Aggressive vertebral hemangiomata are a rare form of vertebral hemangiomata where significant vertebral expansion, extra-osseous component with epidural extension, disturbance of blood flow, and occasionally compression fractures can be present causing spinal cord and/or nerve root compression 1...
Article
Alar ligament
The alar ligaments join the lateral margins of the sloping upper posterior margin of the dens of C2 to the lateral margins of the foramen magnum (adjacent to the occipital condyles) and lie on either side of the apical ligament. They may be oblique or vertical and are thickest at the occipital a...
Article
Alar ligament calcification
Alar ligament calcification is rare. The alar ligaments arise bilaterally from the upper portion of the odontoid process and run obliquely cephalad and laterally to insert on the medial surface of the occipital condyles. They stabilize the head during rotatory movements.
Epidemiology
Focal c...
Article
Allen and Ferguson classification of subaxial cervical spine injuries
Allen and Ferguson classification is used for research purposes to classify subaxial spine injuries and is based purely on the mechanism of injury and position of the neck during injury. This classification was proposed by Allen and Ferguson in 1982 1 and at the time of writing (February 2024)...
Article
Anatomy curriculum
The anatomy curriculum is one of our curriculum articles and aims to be a collection of articles that represent the core anatomy knowledge for radiologists and imaging specialists.
General anatomy
Neuroanatomy
Head and neck anatomy
Thoracic anatomy
Abdominal and pelvic anatomy
Spinal anat...
Article
Ancient schwannoma
Ancient schwannomas are long-standing, benign (WHO grade 1) slow growing schwannomas with advanced degeneration. The term “ancient” has been traditionally used to describe schwannomas showing degenerative changes and diffuse hypocellular ischemic areas 1-3,9.
Pathology
These tumors demonstrate...
Article
Anderson and D'Alonzo classification of odontoid process fracture
The Anderson and D'Alonzo classification is the most commonly used classification of fractures of the odontoid process of C2 1.
Another classification system is the Roy-Camille classification, which aids more in the management of odontoid fractures.
Classification
type I
rare
fracture of th...
Article
Anderson and Montesano classification of occipital condyle fractures
The Anderson and Montesano classification is a widely used system for describing occipital condyle fractures. It divides injuries into three types based on morphology and mechanism of injury 1-5.
Classification
type I: impacted type occipital condyle fracture
morphology: comminution of the co...
Article
Andersson lesion
An Andersson lesion, also known as rheumatic spondylodiscitis, refer to an inflammatory involvement of the intervertebral discs by spondyloarthritis.
Epidemiology
Rheumatic spondylodiscitis is a non-infectious condition that has been shown to occur in about 8% of patients with ankylosing spond...
Article
Angiolipoma
Angiolipomas are rare soft tissue tumors composed of mature adipocytes and vessels. They most commonly arise in the subcutaneous tissues of the extremities.
Please refer to the epidural (spinal) angiolipoma article for a specific discussion. The remainder of this article describes the general f...
Article
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis (less commonly known as Bechterew disease or Marie-Strümpell disease) is a seronegative spondyloarthropathy, which results in fusion (ankylosis) of the spine and sacroiliac (SI) joints, although involvement is also seen in large and small joints.
Epidemiology
Traditional...
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