title: Dural tail sign in spinal meningiomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the association between the "dural tail sign" and spinal meningiomas on MR imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review of MR examinations of all pathologically proven spinal meningiomas from 1998 to 2005 was performed. Lesions were evaluated for size, signal intensity, enhancement pattern, and presence or absence of dural tail. The dural tail length and direction in reference to the meningioma were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven spinal meningiomas were identified in seven patients. One lesion was purely extradural, while the remaining were intradural extramedullary. Dural tail was present in four cases (57%) and its length ranged between 5 and 21 mm. The tail was seen cranial and caudal to the meningioma in three cases and only cranially in one. Coronal images were available in three cases and in two of these; the dural tail was clearly depicted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  "Dural tail sign" is as common in spinal meningiomas as in cranial meningiomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, College of Medicine and King Khalid Univerity Hospital, King Saud University, P.O. Box 9047, Riyadh 11413, Saudi Arabia. alorainy@ksu.edu.sa <alorainy@ksu.edu.sa>
authors.forename: Ibrahim A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Alorainy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004388:Dura Mater / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008579:Meningioma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies