Fig. 17
From: Understanding a mass in the paraspinal region: an anatomical approach
Neurofibroma of the 7th left spinal nerve in a 36-year-old female with thoracic radicular pain. Sagittal (a) and axial CT reconstruction (b) shows the widening of neural foramen (double arrows). Axial CT (b), axial T1WI with contrast (c) and axial T2WI (d) demonstrate the typical dumbbell configuration of nervous tumour with intraspinal (back arrowheads) and paraspinal components (black arrows) that communicate via the intravertebral foramen. The mass presents high signal intensity on T2WI (d), low signal intensity on T1WI (e) and homogeneous enhancement (d). The nervous mass extends into the multifidus muscle (white arrow) and the intercostal space (white arrowheads). The yellow star shows the epicentre of the mass