Department of Spinal Surgery，the Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical Collage，Sichuan，646000，China

English Keywords:Thoracolumbar fracture  Intervertebral disc  MRI

English Abstract:

  【Abstract】 Objective：To summarize the characters of adjacent intervertebral discs of the thoracolumbar vertebrae fracture on MRI.Method：From Ｊａｎｕａｒｙ　2008 to Junｅ　2010，148 consecutive patients suffered from type A thoracolumbar fracture were examined by MRI，the T2W signal changes and morphological changes of the adjacent intervertebral discs were analyzed，and all the characters were summarized.Result：154 fractured vertebral bodies and 302 adjacent intervertebral discs were observed in 148 patients.The abnormal T2W signals and morphological changes were observed in 183 discs（146 cranial discs and 37 caudal discs）.（1）The obvious T2W signal changes were observed in 32 discs（17.5%），without annular fibrosus and endplate changes，and the intervertebral spaces maintained normal as well.（2）The obvious T2W signal and intervertebral space changes were observed in 53 discs（29.9%），without annular fibrosus and endplate changes.（3）The obvious T2W signal changes were observed in 20 discs（10.9%），ｔｈａｔ　the anterior １/３ of intervertebral spaces losｔ height，and the anterior longitudinal ligaments were damaged or collapsed，at the same time，the discs or the nucleus pulposus of the discs were bulged or herniated.（4）The obvious T2W signal and intervertebral space changes were observed in 64 discs（35.0%），ｔｈａｔ nucleus pulposus of the discs were herniated into the fractured thoracolumbar vertebrae，and the endplates were damanged.（5）The obvious T2W signal changes were observed in 14 discs（7.7%），with the posterior １/３ of intervertebral spaces were observed loss height，and the posterior longitudinal ligaments were damaged or collapsed，at the same time，the discs or the nucleus pulposus of the discs were bulged or herniated that resulted in the spinal canal stenosis.（6）The others ｈａｄ　no signal and morphological changes.Conclusion：The adjacent intervertebral discs to fractured thoracolumbar vertebrae on MRI have six forms.Preoperativｅly，the signal changes and the morphological changes of the adjacent intervertebral discs to fractured thoracolumbar vertebrae on MRI maybe served as an important reference factor for choosing treatment plan.