Spinal vacuum phenomenon: CT diagnosis and significance.

Spinal vacuum phenomenon may be encountered in many circumstances, such as degeneration of the intervertebral disk, disk injury, vertebral metastases, ischemic vertebral collapse, Schmorl's nodes, and infectious processes. The high spatial and densitometric resolution of computed tomography (CT) makes it possible to show gas in tissues with high frequency than by conventional radiography. In certain circumstances, the CT findings may be the decisive diagnostic element.