Angio-CT imaging of the spinal cord vascularisation: a pictorial essay.
Knowledge of the spinal cord (SC) vascular supply is important in patients undergoing procedures that involve the thoracic and thoraco-abdominal aorta; the SC vasculature, however, has a complex and highly variable anatomy. Recent breakthroughs in imaging methods have expanded the non-invasive diagnostic ability to determine a patient's spinal cord vascular pattern, particularly in detecting the presence and location of the artery of Adamkiewicz. CT is the imaging modality of choice for most patients with thoracic and thoraco-abdominal aortic disease for pre-operative planning of endovascular treatment: thus the data set required for our analysis of spinal cord vascular anatomy is already available. This paper provides examples of the SC vasculature imaging that can be obtained with 64 row scanners and appropriate postprocessing.
Melissano
G
G
Scientific Institute H. San Raffaele, Chair of Vascular Surgery, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. g.melissano@hsr.it
Civilini
E
E
Bertoglio
L
L
Calliari
F
F
Campos Moraes Amato
A
A
Chiesa
R
R
D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D001158:Arteries / Q000196:embryology; D006801:Humans; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply*; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects