In vitro magnetic resonance microimaging of the spinal cord.

A 2.0-T small animal imager equipped with 3 G/cm imaging gradient coils was used to obtain images of en bloc segments of the vertebral column containing the rat spinal cord and of a cadaveric human spinal cord. These images demonstrate the applicability of MR micro-imaging techniques to the study of interesting problems in medicine and biology. Images of transverse sections of the spinal cord with in-plane resolution of better than 0.1 mm were obtained from slices 1 mm thick. The images of normal and injured rat spinal cord vividly show that spinal cord injury in the rat can be visualized using MRI techniques. The MR image of the cadaveric human spinal cord shows subanachroid gray and white matter structures. A comparison with a photomicrograph indicates that it is the superior contrast of the MR image that leads to increased conspicuity.