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MRI diagnosis of diastematomyelia （a report of 24 cases）<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
程敬亮 任翠萍 李树新 李荫太 韩新巍 陈学军 谢启约 安红旗 汪 浒
Cheng Jingliang，Ren Cuiping，Li Shux－in，et al. Department of Radiology，the First Affiliated Hospital of ttenan Medical University，Zhengzhou 450052
Abstract
Purpose：To explore the classification of diastematomyelia and evaluate the diagnostic value of MRI for diastematomyelia.
Materials and methods：Twenty－four patients ranged from 6 months to 52 years in age，10 were males and 14 were females，among which 20 cases were less. than 15 years old. There were 25 segments of the spinal cord being involved. All cases were evaluated by roentgenograms of the spine，plain CT and MRI respectively. This entity was divided into two groups：those containing a spur （type I ） and without （type Ⅱ）. Type I was subdivided into complete form of the spur （type I a） and incomplete one （type I b），while type Ⅱ was subdivided into a complete vertically divided cord （type Ⅱ a） and incomplete one （type Ⅱb）.
Results：（1） Among the 25 segments of diastematomyelia，type I accounted for 56％ （14/25） and type I 44％/00 （11/25），while type I a was 48％ （12/25），type Ⅱa 36％ （9/25），type I b and Ⅱb was 8％ （2/25） respectively. （2） The positive rate of roentgenogram，plain CT and MRI for diagnosing diastematomyelia was 12％ （3/25），68％ （17/25） and 100％ （25/25） respectively. （3） 25 segments of diastematomyelia were all determined with MRI axial section correctly，23 of them with coronal section and 16 of them with sagittal section.
Conclusion：MRI Was the most effective method for diagnosing diastematomyelia itself and its intracanal related anomalies，however，the bony spur was better shown on plain CT. Axial section T1WI was the best orientation for the diagnosis of this entity. The spur of diastematomyelia （type I） was shown better on T2WI. The classification of this entity may benefit the surgeon if operation is feasible，because it provides the true pathological nature of diastematomyelia.
Key words：Spinal cord diseases Abnormalities Magnetic resonance imaging. | 
