Abstract
Spinal tumors consist of a large spectrum of various histologic entities. Multiple
spinal lesions frequently represent known metastatic disease or lymphoproliferative
disease. In solitary lesions primary neoplasms of the spine should be considered.
Primary spinal tumors may arise from the spinal cord, the surrounding leptomeninges,
or the extradural soft tissues and bony structures. A wide variety of benign neoplasms
can involve the spine including enostosis, osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma, aneurysmal
bone cyst, giant cell tumor, and osteochondroma. Common malignant primary neoplasms
are chordoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma or primitive neuroectodermal tumor, and
osteosarcoma. Although plain radiographs may be useful to characterize some spinal
lesions, magnetic resonance imaging is indispensable to determine the extension and
the relationship with the spinal canal and nerve roots, and thus determine the plan
of management. In this article we review the characteristic imaging features of extradural
spinal lesions.
Keywords
spinal tumor - extradural tumor - magnetic resonance imaging
