Extramedullary Tumor - Thoracic Meningioma

A 72 year-old woman presented with stiffness of the legs and difficulty ambulating. On examination, lower extremities reflexes were brisk with bilateral Babinski responses.

Note the Isointense Tumor on T1     Note the Enhancement of the Tumor with Gadolinium  

Extramedullary Tumor: Thoracic Meningioma. (Left) T1-weighted sagittal MRI; (Right) T1-weighted with gadolinium sagittal MRI. Note the tumor is barely able to be seen on the T1-weighted image. However, on the gadolinium enhanced image, the tumor is easily seen. In addition, it can clearly be seen as arising from the dura. Surgical excision of the mass demonstrated the lesion to be a meningioma.

Revised 11/29/06
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston