Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Apr 28, 2017; 9(4): 178-190
Published online Apr 28, 2017. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v9.i4.178
Imaging spectrum of spinal dysraphism on magnetic resonance: A pictorial review
Jyoti Kumar, Muhammed Afsal, Anju Garg
Jyoti Kumar, Muhammed Afsal, Anju Garg, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Maulana Azad Medical College and Associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
Author contributions: Kumar J and Afsal M substantially contributed towards the conception of study, data collection and drafting the article; Garg A analysed the data and critically revised to assess intellectual content in the article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Jyoti Kumar, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Maulana Azad Medical College and Associated Lok Nayak Hospital, Bahadur Shah Zafar Road, New Delhi 110002, India. drjyotikumar@gmail.com
Telephone: +91-99-68604361
Received: October 13, 2016
Peer-review started: October 17, 2016
First decision: January 16, 2017
Revised: February 16, 2017
Accepted: February 28, 2017
Article in press: March 2, 2017
Published online: April 28, 2017
Processing time: 196 Days and 19.9 Hours
Abstract

Congenital malformations of spine and spinal cord are collectively termed as spinal dysraphism. It includes a heterogeneous group of anomalies which result from faulty closure of midline structures during development. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now considered the imaging modality of choice for diagnosing these conditions. The purpose of this article is to review the normal development of spinal cord and spine and reviewing the MRI features of spinal dysraphism. Although imaging of spinal dysraphism is complicated, a systematic approach and correlation between neuro-radiological, clinical and developmental data helps in making the correct diagnosis.

Keywords: Spinal dysraphism; Magnetic resonance imaging; Open spinal dysraphism; Meningomyelocele; Closed spinal dysraphism

Core tip: Imaging of spinal dysraphism may appear complicated as it is a group of diverse conditions which can have variable imaging appearance. It includes a heterogeneous group of anomalies which result from faulty closure of midline structures during development. Magnetic resonance imaging is now considered the imaging modality of choice for diagnosing these conditions. A systematic approach and correlation with neuroradiological, clinical and developmental data helps in making the correct diagnosis.