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CT myelotomography was carried out in 262 patients with various conditions of the spine and cord. Pathologic changes were detected in 233 (87.6%) of the examinees. The most frequent diseases were tumors and metastases (59 cases), degenerative processes, including primary and recurrent hernias (59 cases), atrophic processes (46 cases). The accuracy of the diagnosis was found to be 98.6%. A false-positive result was obtained in one case with a suspected tumor of the cord. No complications were recorded. Computer-aided myelotomography is an effective method for the diagnosis of involvement of the spine and cord.

Computed tomography (CT) examination was performed in 711 patients with various degenerative and dystrophic processes in the spine. The most numerous group (485 patients) included those with a posterior discal hernia associated in 54.3% of cases with other degenerative and dystrophic alterations in the vertebral column. The hernias were paramedial in 336 and central in 147 patients. In 98.4% of cases the lumbosacral portion was involved. The CT diagnosis was verified at surgery in 103 patients (21.3%) providing evidence for setting up the principal CT criteria of the hernia: deformity of the disk posterior margin in the form of its local prolapse, deformity of the epidural fat, presence of a soft tissue component, dislocation and deformity of the dural sac. It is established that CT is a safe and highly informative diagnostic procedure in discal hernias.

The paper is concerned with an analysis of combined use of modern methods of diagnostic imaging for spot biopsy and therapeutic manipulations in 274 patients with various chest diseases. Morphological diagnosis was verified in 252 of 274 examined patients (91.9%). X-ray or CT-assisted therapeutic manipulations with sanitation and drainage of pathological cavities were performed in 12 patients with pulmonary and mediastinal abscesses.

The authors analyse the results of the use of modern methods of morphological verification of a diagnosis in 23 patients with different diseases of the pancreas. The patients were subjected to 26 spot transcutaneous biopsies verified by computer-aided tomography or ultrasonic exploration. The morphological diagnosis was verified in 20 out of the 23 examinees (87%). Three patients with pseudocysts received curative manipulations under the control of computer-aided tomography and ultrasonic exploration, sanitation and sclerosing of the pathological cavities.

Two groups of patients with constrictive pericarditis were identified on the basis of clinical and instrumental examination including echocardiography and computerized tomography of the heart: patients with complete obliteration of the pericardial sac and constriction, and those with exudative/adhesive pericarditis and constriction. Part of the patients were subjected to subtotal pericardectomy. An improvement of left-ventricular diastolic function and hemodynamic parameters was demonstrated 1 to 1.5 months after the operation. Postoperative echocardiography showed persistent disorders of interventricular septum movement and multilayer abnormal echoes in the left-ventricular posterior wall area.