MR venoangiography of epidural venous system

This paper evaluates MR venoangiography of the cervical spinal region especially of the veins in the epidural space. Sagittal volume data were obtained by imaging with surface coils on a 1.5-T MR unit. The three-dimensional time-of-flight technique was employed. Gd-DTPA was used in almost all cases. An image processing program enabled us to generate an each-projection image from multiple view angles, extracting the maximum-intensity-valued pixels reflecting entrance flow or hypervascularity. The restricted regions around the cord were evaluated separately. Examinations were performed in 12 subjects, including normal volunteers (n = 4) and patients with clinically diagnosed focal amyotrophy or juvenile amyotrophy of the distal upper extremity (n = 4), arteriovenous malformation or fistula (n = 1), spinal tumors (n = 2), and miscellaneous findings (n = 1)