Quote:
Originally Posted by pippybread
Hi all
Can anyone shed any light on the following "Impression" at the end of an MRI report?
A small central and moderate bilateral C5/6 disc bar which with possible minimal posterior elemental hypertrophy is resulting in moderate spinal stenosis with complete loss of surrounding CSF space and possible minimal effacement of the cord but no myelomalacia and moderate to moderately severe narrowing of both exit foramina, more marked on the right.
What on earth? Does this explain my pins and needles? Does this mean surgery? Any info would be most gratefully received!! Thank you  |
Lets see if we can pull this apart for you. I'm not sure what a "disc bar" is, but the first sentence says that the middle of the disc is least effected while both sides are moderately effected. Hypertrophy is overgrowth, so there is some overgrowth at the side closest to your back. The spinal cord runs through the spine, and the extra growth is causing the space it runs through to be narrowed. (stenosis is just a big word for narrowing). CSF stands for cerebral spinal fluid. There should be space around the cord for this fluid to move, and the narrowing is preventing this fluid from moving. (The cerebral spinal fluid is the fluid that is taken during a spinal tap.). Myelomalacia is softening of the spinal cord, and the report says that is not present. (a good thing). Foramina are openings in the bone that should be there, but, and the report says that those openings are abnormally small.
Think of the spinal cord as a hose. Put a sleeve around the length of the hose. Between the hose and the sleeve there is fluid that can flow up or down. (hold the hose vertically). Think of putting your hand around the hose and its sleeve and squeezing. Now the fluid cannot go up and down. If you squeeze but not as hard, some fluid may be able to go up and down, but not much. At one point, squeeze the hose and sleeve hard enough that there is no space between the hose and the sleeve for any fluid.
All nerves originate from the spinal cord whether its directly or indirectly via nerves branching out. Kind of like a tree branch. Lets say the spinal cord is a tree trunk. Off it come large limbs, and off them come smaller branches. The further you get from the trunk, the smaller the branches are. Any disruption in the spinal cord can cause unwanted effects. Pins and needles, numbness etc.
I hope I didn't just confuse you more. If my explaination was too confusing, try tearing the report apart by looking up each word you don't understand online. That may help you peice it together. The reason for the big words is so every Dr. reading the report can understand exactly what is going on. If they use day to day terminology, there might be a different interpretation made by every Dr. who reads the report.
Sam