Persistence of the notochordal canal: MR and plain film appearance

We report a case of an unusually prominent persistent notochordal canal inv olving the T12-L5 vertebrae. This rare anatomic variation was discovered as an incidental Ending in a patient with lymphoma undergoing MR imaging for evaluation of back pain. MR images showed a vertically oriented canal conti guous with the intervertebral disks traversing the anterior aspect of each affected vertebral body, Plain films showed a sclerotic rimmed central chan nel that flared at each vertebral endplate to merge with the disk spaces.