CT EXAMINATION OF PATIENTS WITH OSTEOFLUOROSIS

This paper reports CT (Computerized Tomography) scan findings of the e xamination of the vertebral canals of 12 patients with severe osteoflu orosis diagnosed by X-ray and with typical signs of spinal nerve damag e. The examination showed various degrees of ossification of the rear longitudinal ligament (RLL) (aka posterior longitudinal ligament) in a ll 12 cases and of the yellow ligament (YL) (aka ligamentum flavum) in 3 cases. Stricture of the intervertebral foramen was found in one cas e. These results suggest that neurological findings indicative of spin al cord compression in patients with osteofluorosis are chiefly create d by vertebral canal stricture caused by ossification of the RLL and Y L rather than stricture of the canal by bone overgrowth. The CT scan c learly reveals the shape of the vertebral canal and the RLL and YL. Re construction of sagittal pictures may be used to localize the site of compression of the dural sac and nerve root, thereby obtaining results that can not be found by any other technique.