Nontraumatic spine disorders: part I

This article discusses several critical nontraumatic emergencies that involve the spine. Metastatic disease, infection of the disc and epidural space, acute disc herniation, epidural hematoma, and epidural lipomatosis may all present with symptoms ranging from localized pain to more severe neurologic sequelae. Several of these entities may progress to irreversible myelopathy or death if the diagnosis is not made in a timely manner. Appropriate radiologic evaluation and accurate interpretation are required to guide necessary treatment for these entities. Clinical presentation, etiology, radiologic findings, and pitfalls of interpretation of these conditions and related entities will be presented.