MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF PRIMARY OSTEOSARCOMA OF THE LUMBAR VERTEBRA WITH METASTASIS TO THE PERIRENAL FAT

Primary osteosarcoma of the spine not associated with any predisposing factor is rare. The authors describe a case of osteosarcoma of the lu mbar spine in a 44-year-old woman with biopsy-proven ulcerative coliti s. The patient underwent bone scanning, computed tomography (CT) and m agnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the authors present the first rec ord of the MRI appearance of this disease in a vertebral body. Relativ e to classical osteosarcoma of long bone, this case involved a higher degree of soft-tissue ossification, which was readily visible with bot h CT and MRI. The patient had extensive metastasis, including metastas is to the perirenal fat, and died 10 months after presentation.