MR spectrum in spinal dysraphism

Spinal dysraphism is a general term which encompasses a wide variety of ano malies of the spine, all of which result from imperfect midline fusion of t he embryonic neural tube. This term refers to large defects that involve th e spine and not to small vertical clefts commonly seen within the spinal pr ocess of L5 or S1. We present a spectrum of MR imaging findings selected fr om a retrospective review of 100 patients of spinal dysraphism evaluated at our institution.