title: Spinal infections: clinical and imaging features.
abstract: Spinal infections represent a group of rare conditions affecting vertebral bodies, intervertebral discs, paraspinal soft tissues, epidural space, meninges, and spinal cord. The causal factors, clinical presentations, and imaging features are a challenge because the difficulty to differentiate them from other conditions, such as degenerative and inflammatory disorders and spinal neoplasm. They require early recognition because delay diagnosis, imaging, and intervention may have devastating consequences especially in children and the elderly. This article reviews the most common spinal infections, their pathophysiologic, clinical manifestation, and their imaging findings.
authors.affiliation: From the *Neuroradiology Section, Radiological Department, Hospital Pablo Tobon Uribe, Medellin, Colombia; †Neuroradiology Unit, Link, Diagnostico Digital, Medellín, Colombia; and ‡Neuroradiology Division, Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arbelaez
authors.forename: Feliza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Restrepo
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castillo
mesh_terms: D001850:Bone Diseases, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D015299:Discitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013166:Spondylitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*