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Focal lesions within the spleen are being increasingly recognized as imaging technologies advance, and often provide a diagnostic challenge for radiologists. Knowledge of the types of pathologies that occur, determination of solid or cystic nature and a search for characteristic features including correlation with extrasplenic findings can usually allow a specific diagnosis or brief differential to be offered.

Intrathoracic extramedullary haematopoiesis occurring as a complication of osteopetrosis is uncommon. The combination of classic plain film and CT findings should suggest the diagnosis, which can be non-invasively confirmed with bone marrow scintigraphy.

The peritoneal cavity is a potential space that is divided by the peritoneal reflections into various complex subspaces. It can be involved in many disease processes including developmental, inflammatory, neoplastic and traumatic conditions. Computed tomography is highly sensitive and consistent in detecting peritoneal pathology. This pictorial essay aims to emphasize and illustrate the CT features of the spectrum of peritoneal diseases.

The radiological findings in five patients with pelvic soft tissue neoplasms directly involving the sacroiliac joint, are described. All patients had Computed Tomography (CT) examinations, two of the patients also having Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The role of imaging in this uncommon entity is discussed as well as the importance of making this diagnosis, thereby excluding unilateral sacroiliitis. The therapeutic implications of this diagnosis relate to local neural involvement, especially the sciatic nerve, and the fact that involvement of the sacroiliac joint by tumors significantly compromises chances of a successful surgical outcome. The role of MR in this condition is not yet certain, but it may prove to be the method of choice in view of its excellent depiction of skeletal neoplasms.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at 0.3T and Computed Tomography (CT) were compared in the retrospective evaluation of 34 patients with acute spinal cord injury. MRI was highly accurate in the imaging of vertebral body fracture, and spondylitic changes, and is the method of choice for imaging ligament injury, traumatic disc protrusion and spinal cord compression. It was also useful for the identification of subtle subluxations in the sagittal plane. CT remains the method of choice for imaging neural arch fractures. MRI at 0.3T is a valid technique for assessing patients with acute spinal trauma.

MRI at 0.3T and CT with myelographic contrast (CTM) were compared in the retrospective evaluation of 35 patients investigated for the development of new neurological symptoms following longstanding spinal cord injury. Compared with MRI, CTM was relatively accurate for the demonstration of spinal cord compression, but failed to identify 23% of patients with spinal cord atrophy, and 43% of patients with post-traumatic syrinx formation. However, 5 patients had unsatisfactory MR imaging, either due to motion or metallic artifact, and in 3 of these, CTM demonstrated a syrinx. Although MRI is the method of choice in the investigation of this problem, CTM may still be required for patients with an unsatisfactory MR examination. Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging is now an established technique for imaging the spine, with accurate depiction of the spinal cord, as well as the adjacent soft tissues (1, 2). However, the cost of this technique, and its as yet limited availability in Australasia, has resulted in the necessity to demonstrate its superiority over other imaging modalities for any specific clinical problem (3). One of the major areas of impact of MR has been in the investigation of the problem of acute neurological deterioration in patients with past spinal trauma (4, 5, 6). Some of these patients will have treatable causes of deterioration, either a post-traumatic syrinx, or spinal cord compression (6), and MR can be used to image these conditions (7), which, until recently, were investigated with computed tomography with myelographic contrast medium (CTM), (8, 9).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)