Spinal cord diseases

Abstract The spinal cord is an eloquent area of the central nervous system (CNS). The assessment of the presence, distribution, and severity of spinal cord damage in patients affected by different neurological conditions might be valuable not only for the differential diagnosis, but also to improve our understanding of the mechanisms leading to irreversible clinical disability and/or recovery of function following spinal cord injury. Although imaging of the spinal cord is technically challenging due to its small size, the presence of artefacts from the surrounding structures and pulsation, respiratory and cardiac motion, the development of sophisticated MR coils and fast imaging techniques has led to an improved capability for studying this structure reliably. Such a development has also enabled the application of modern MR techniques to measure and grade the extent of cord involvement in different neurological conditions. This chapter summarizes the contribution obtained by the application of conventional and advanced MRI techniques for the diagnosis and monitoring of spinal cord diseases.