Gradient echo imaging of the lumbar spine.

Journal articles have presented pro and con views of gradient recalled echo (GRE) imaging of the lumbar spine, while it has been illustrated in textbooks that have advanced its diagnostic applicability. This paper reappraises GRE in light of evolving MRI technology. The conspicuity of anatomic structures on axial T1-weighted (T1W) spin-echo (SE) images were matched with T2 GRE images in 55 patients referred for evaluation of low back pain. Disc herniations were hyperintense on GRE images and readily separable from hypointense spondylophytes.