VACUUM DISC - FREQUENCY OF HIGH SIGNAL INTENSITY ON T2-WEIGHTED MR-IMAGES

Objective. To determine the frequency of lumbar intervertebral disc va cuum clefts demonstrating high signal intensity on T2-weighted magneti c resonance (MR) images. Design and patients. MR images of the lumbosa cral spine of 100 patients with radiographic evidence of the lumbar in tervertebral disc vacuum phenomenon were retrospectively studied for t he signal pattern of the intervertebral disc vacuum clefts. Results an d conclusion. Twelve of the reviewed MR studies demonstrated high sign al intensity of the vacuum clefts on long TR and TE sequences while th e remaining 88 cases demonstrated the vacuum as signal void on both T1 - and T2-weighted images, It is concluded that vacuum clefts not infre quently show high T2 signal intensity.