Radiological imaging of the central nervous system

: The radiological evaluation of central nervous system has been dramatically altered by the advent of MR imaging. MR imaging is a versatile modality that has been applied in almost all kinds of disorders in the brain, spinal cord and the surrounding structures. However, there are some limitations, such as low detectability of subarachnoid hemorrhage or calcifications, difficulty in visualization of bony details, and various kinds of artifacts. On the other hand, there have also been considerable technical advances in other imaging modalities, such as spiral CT, doppler US, etc. With the continuous advance in each imaging modality, their roles and the strategy in the diagnosis of disorders in central nervous system will be changed. In this review, the present status and current roles of various imaging modalities, such as plain X-ray, CT, MR imaging, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, angiography and myelography, are discussed.