MR discography: a comparison with CT discography

Gadopentetate dimeglumine was demonstrated to be an effective contrast agent for use in MR discography. A combined agent was developed consisting of a mixture of 0.5 mM gadopentetate dimeglumine, iohexol 300 mg I/ml, and 0.06% Fast green dye. Examination of the lumbar discs in two cadaver spines injected with 1–2 ml of this mixture enabled characterization of the disc with MRI, CT and cryomicrotomy in the same specimen. Images from each of the three modalities were obtained in identical sections for axial and sagittal planes. These images display excellent correspondence in the distribution of injected agent. MR T1-weighted images appear to give sharper, more compact representations of the contrast agent as well as details of the annulus and nucleus which were not observed on CT.