MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST- 47

Findings:

There is a staightening of the normal lordosis. There are hemangiomas at L3 and L5 vertebral bodies, otherwise the bone marrow signal are normal. The conus medullaris and cauda equina have a normal appearance.

Ther are multilevel disk degenerative changeswith the disk space narrowing and the disk osteophte complexes. There is not central stenosis at any level.

T12-L1: Mild disc bulge without central or neural foramen stenosis.

L1-L2: Mild diffuse disc bulge with mild right neural foramen narrowing.

L2-L3: Mild diffuse disc bulge with mild bilateral neural foramen narrowing.

L3-L4: Mild diffuse disc bulge with moderate bilateral neural foramen narrowing.

L4-L5: Mild diffuse disc bulge with moderate bilateral neural foramen narrowing. Note of fatty end plate changes.

L5-S1: Mild diffuse disc bulge with moderate bilateral neural foramen narrowing. Note of fatty end plate changes.

Multiple small retroperitoneal lymph nodes are seen.

IMPRESSION:

1. Multilevel disk degenerative changes with disk space narrowing and disk osteophyte complexes with moderate bilateral neural foramen narrowing at L4/5 and L5/S1.

2. Multiple small retroperitoneal lymph nodes are seen . CT of the abdomen is recommended for further exaluation to exclude neoplasm.

Let me see if I can help:

T12-L1 - You have a disc bulge

L1-L2 ~ You have a disc bulge with mild foramen narrowing on the right - the foramen is the hole that the nerves pass thru to get to the spinal cord

L2-L3 ~ You have a disc bulge with bilateral foramen narrowing

L3-L4 ~ You have a disc bulge with moderate foramen narrowing (bilateral)

L4-5 ~ You have a disc bulge with moderate foramen narrowing bilateral - I'm not sure about the endplates

L5-S1 ~ You have a disc bulge with bilateral foramen narrowing

The "multiple small retroperitoneal lymph nodes" ~ these are located in the lining of the stomach - therefore the recommendation that you get a CT-scan to further explore these. They want to rule out a tumor.

The Osteophyte complexes ~ these are bone spurs which may or may not be causing you pain.

The loss of disc space height means that the spaces between the discs is less than it should be because your discs are drying out, and kind of "squashing" making them bulge out. This makes the bony vertebra come closer together - so you kind of "shrink."

I hope this makes some kind of sense to you. God bless and take care. Hugs, Lee