Back pain and condensation of the eighth thoracic vertebra: is it always a metastatic disease?
The case of a 55-year-old female patient with discogenic sclerosis of a thoracic vertebra is illuminated by a radiologic vignette. The clinical and radiologic features, including those of conventional radiography, computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging are hallmarked in this portrait. The importance of differentiating the condition particularly from infectious spondylodiscitis and metastatic disease to the spine is underpinned.
Department of Rheumatology, Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden, 8934 AD Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. gawbruyn@wxs.nl
G A W
GA
Bruyn
P R
PR
Tondu
D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D001850:Bone Diseases, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D015299:Discitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D010026:Osteosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed