title: Lumbar herniated disks.
abstract: Patients with low back and leg pain require careful evaluation and it is essential that there is correlation between the symptoms and signs of sciatica and the imaging demonstration of nerve root compression or displacement by a disk herniation before invasive therapy is undertaken. The natural history of herniations of the nucleus pulposus is complex and the relationship between the appearances on imaging and low back and radicular pain still has to be completely resolved. Considerable experimental work has been undertaken on the relationship between nerve compression, inflammation, and pain and recent studies on cytokines may lead to more precise pharmacologic therapies. The prime value of MR imaging may be in monitoring disk and nerve root changes in longitudinal studies of patients randomized to different therapeutic programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic & District Hospital, NHS Trust, Oswestry, Shropshire, England.
authors.forename: I W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: McCall
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D012585:Sciatica / Q000175:diagnosis; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA