| Abstract: | Signals of MR images which were done preoperatively on 86 patients with protrusion of lumbar vertebral disc were correlated to operative findings that were grouped, according to condition and position of the nucleus pulposus with relation to its annulus fibrosus, into 3 categories: protrusion, herniation and extrusion. Each of these 3 pathologic conditions was well-reflected on MRI image, a recognizable unique signal, characteristic of each category. Accordingly, the preoperative diagnosis in this series was 96.5% accurate, much better than that with any other methods; better still, MR imaging is non-invasive. |
