title: High-resolution 3-T MR neurography of the lumbosacral plexus.
abstract: The lumbosacral plexus comprises a network of nerves that provide motor and sensory innervation to most structures of the pelvis and lower extremities. It is susceptible to various traumatic, inflammatory, metabolic, and neoplastic processes that may lead to lumbrosacral plexopathy, a serious and often disabling condition whose course and prognosis largely depend on the identification and cure of the causative condition. Whereas diagnosis of lumbrosacral plexopathy has traditionally relied on patients' medical history, clinical examination, and electrodiagnostic tests, magnetic resonance (MR) neurography plays an increasingly prominent role in noninvasive characterization of the type, location, and extent of lumbrosacral plexus involvement and is developing into a useful diagnostic tool that substantially affects disease management. With use of 3-T MR imagers, improved coils, and advanced imaging sequences, which provide exquisite spatial resolution and soft-tissue contrast, MR neurography provides excellent depiction of the lumbrosacral plexus and its peripheral branches and may be used to confirm a diagnosis of lumbrosacral plexopathy with high accuracy or provide superior anatomic information should surgical intervention be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science and Department of Plastic Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 601 N Caroline St, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soldatos
authors.forename: Gustav
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andreisek
authors.forename: Gaurav K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Thawait
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guggenberger
authors.forename: Eric H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carrino
authors.forename: Avneesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chhabra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008160:Lumbosacral Plexus / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000473:pathology*