Single vertebral compression and involvement of the posterior elements in tuberculous spondylitis: observation on MR imaging.

To examine the atypical presentation of tuberculous spondylitis we evaluated seven cases seen in our hospitals during a five-year period (1989-1994) with procedures including MR imaging and CT scan. Three of the seven cases showed collapse of the single vertebral bodies with relatively spared disk spaces. Posterior elements were also involved on MR imaging in three cases, but the involvement of adjacent disks and vertebral bodies militated against metastases.