Ivory vertebra
An ivory
vertebra due to probable Paget disease. This is an edited version of the source image made for use in the "Anatomist" iOS and Android app and shared here under the terms of the source image"s Share Alike Creative Commons license.
The ivory vertebra (also known as ivory vertebra sign) sign refers to the diffuse and homogeneous increase in opacity of a vertebral body that otherwise retains its size and contours, and with no change in the opacity and size of adjacent intervertebral discs.
Pathology
Etiology
The cause for an ivory vertebra depends on the age of the patient .
Pediatric
- lymphoma: commonest cause, usually Hodgkin lymphoma
- osteosarcoma
- osteoblastoma
- blastic metastatic disease
Adult
- osteoblastic metastases
- lymphoma (usually Hodgkin lymphoma)
- tuberculous spondylitis
- hemangioma
- chordoma
- Paget disease of bone
- vertebral body expansion (unlike hemangioma)
- coarsened trabeculae
- SAPHO syndrome
Rarely, the ivory vertebra can also be seen in :
- primary bone sarcoma
- sarcoidosis
- systemic mastocytosis
A helpful mnemonic is LIMPH.
Radiographic features
Plain radiograph and CT
Plain radiographs and CT will demonstrate diffuse sclerosis of the vertebral body with variable involvement of the posterior vertebral elements.
MRI
MRI demonstrates hypointense signals within the corresponding vertebra which is directly proportional to the degree of sclerosis of the vertebral body.
See also
Siehe auch:
- osteoblastische Knochenmetastasen
- Morbus Paget des Knochens
- Osteosarkom
- Neuroblastom
- Ewing-Sarkom
- Osteoblastom
- Medulloblastom
- Adenokarzinom der Prostata
- Neoplasien der Mamma
und weiter:
Assoziationen und Differentialdiagnosen zu ivory vertebra sign:
