Imaging of the spine has traditionally been accomplished with plain ra
diography, myelography, CT, and radionuclide bone scanning. Recently,
MR imaging has become the procedure of choice for the evaluation of sp
inal disorders. The vertebrae, intervertebral disks, ligaments, spinal
canal, and neural foramen may all be evaluated using current MR imagi
ng techniques. MR imaging with paramagnetic contrast is a valuable tec
hnique for diagnosing tumor, infection, and degenerative disease. CT r
emains the procedure of choice for examining fine cortical bone detail
, including the evaluation of spinal fractures and the assessment of n
eural foraminal size, but it is not sensitive for detecting marrow-inf
iltrating disorders. This article focuses on MR imaging techniques use
d to evaluate common disorders of the spine, including degenerative di
sease, tumors, myeloproliferative disorders, and Paget's disease.