Radiology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Published online before print April 24, 2003, 10.1148/radiol.2273020535
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aaronson, O. S.
Right arrow Articles by Tulipan, N. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aaronson, O. S.
Right arrow Articles by Tulipan, N. B.

Myelomeningocele: Prenatal Evaluation—Comparison between Transabdominal US and MR Imaging1

Oran S. Aaronson, MD, Marta Hernanz-Schulman, MD, Joseph P. Bruner, MD, George W. Reed, PhD and Noel B. Tulipan, MD

1 From the Departments of Neurosurgery (O.S.A., N.B.T.), Radiology (M.H.S.), and Obstetrics and Gynecology (J.P.B.), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, A-2219 Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232; and Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester (G.W.R.). Received May 6, 2002; revision requested June 21; final revision received September 27; accepted October 25. Supported by a grant from the Dana Foundation. Address correspondence to N.B.T. (e-mail: noel.tulipan@vanderbilt.edu).



View larger version (137K):

[in a new window]
  		Figure 1. Prenatal transabdominal US images of a fetus at an estimated gestational age of 22 weeks. The spine is seen in the transverse plane. Left: Image shows intact laminae at the level of the distal abdominal aorta (arrow). Center: Image demonstrates the beginning of posterior element separation (curved arrows) and the myelomeningocele sac (straight arrow), below the aortic bifurcation. Right: Image shows wide-open posterior elements (curved arrows) and the myelomeningocele sac (straight arrow) at the level of the iliac crests at L5. Therefore, the most cephalic level of the dysraphic defect is at L4, as seen in the center image.

 


View larger version (106K):

[in a new window]
  		Figure 2. Prenatal sagittal fast spin-echo MR image (1,200/120 [repetition time msec/echo time msec]) obtained in a fetus at an estimated gestational age of 24 weeks. The dysraphic defect (arrow) begins at L3.

 


View larger version (92K):

[in a new window]
  		Figure 3. Postnatal sagittal T2-weighted MR image (3,600/113) in the newborn who is depicted prenatally in Figure 2 demonstrates the dysraphic defect (arrow) beginning at L4. The tethered neural placode is seen one level below, at L5. Image quality of this image was better than that of the T1-weighted image (not shown).

 


View larger version (91K):

[in a new window]
  		Figure 4. Postnatal anteroposterior spinal radiograph of the same patient as in Figures 2 and 3 demonstrates spinal dysraphia beginning at L4. Note the laminar separation (arrows) at this level.

 


View larger version (16K):

[in a new window]
  		Figure 5. Graph illustrates the tendency for a lesion to be assigned a higher, more cephalic level at prenatal US than that assigned at postnatal spinal radiography. {bullet} = lesions assigned identical levels with both modalities, {circ} = lesions assigned different levels.

 




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
RADIOLOGY RADIOGRAPHICS RSNA JOURNALS ONLINE
Copyright © 2003 by the Radiological Society of North America.