MRI Terms

Plain-language explanations of the words that appear most often in spine MRI reports — from foraminal narrowing to Modic changes.

• How to Read Your Spine MRI Report (master guide)→
• Annular Fissure (Annular Tear) and the High-Intensity Zone (HIZ)→
• Central Canal Stenosis Grading: Mild, Moderate, Severe→
• Retrolisthesis: When the Vertebra Slips Backward→
• Facet Arthropathy and Facet Joint Hypertrophy→
• Foraminal vs. Paracentral vs. Central Disc Herniations→
• Spondylosis vs. Spondylolisthesis vs. Spondylolysis: The Three "Spondy" Words→
• Vertebral Endplates: Anatomy, Modic Changes, and Why They Hurt→
• Synovial Cyst (Lumbar Spine): What Patients Need to Know→
• Bertolotti's Syndrome and Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae→
• Cobb Angle Measurement: What Yours Means for Scoliosis Treatment→
• Modic Changes Type 1, 2, and 3 Explained for Patients→
• Listhesis Grading I Through V (Meyerding Classification)→
• Nerve Root Impingement on MRI: How Serious Is It?→
• Pfirrmann Grading Explained: Grades I Through V→
• Disc Bulge vs. Protrusion vs. Extrusion vs. Sequestration: A Visual Guide→
• Neural Foraminal Narrowing: What Mild, Moderate, and Severe Mean→
• Lateral Recess Stenosis: The Stenosis Patients Don't Know They Have→
• Ligamentum Flavum Hypertrophy: Why Your Ligament Is Making Your Canal Smaller→
• Schmorl's Nodes: Common, Almost Always Benign→
• T2 Signal Changes on Spine MRI: Dehydration, Edema, and Myelopathy→
• MRI vs. CT vs. X-Ray for Spine: Which One Do You Actually Need?→
• When Is a Spine MRI Necessary? Red Flags vs. Routine Imaging→
• Reading a Spine MRI: T1 vs. T2 Sequences for Patients→
• What an MRI With and Without Contrast Means for Your Spine→
• EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies: When Your Surgeon Orders One→
• The Discogram: Why It's Done and What It Shows→
• CT Myelogram: When Spine MRI Isn't Enough→
• Spine MRI Findings That Are NOT a Cause for Concern→