The "dural tail sign" in MRI of spinal meningiomas.

Objective: Evaluation of "dural tail sign" in spinal meningiomas with gadolinium enhanced MRI in sagittal, axial, and especially coronal planes.

Materials And Methods: On a 0.5 T system, sagittal and axial T1 spin echo images (TR/TE 550/22) and sagittal T2 turbo spin echo images (TR/TE 2855/150) of the thoracolumbar spine were acquired. After administration of gadolinium (0.1 mmol/kg), sagittal, axial, and coronal T1 spin echo images (TR/TE 500/30) were acquired at the area of the tumors.

Results: The nonenhanced images demonstrated intradural and extramedullary tumors with a signal intensity in the T1 images a little higher than the adjacent spinal cord. After the administration of gadolinium, homogeneous enhancement of the tumors was seen. An even stronger enhancement was noticed at the borders of the tumors with the adjacent meninges, seen in the sagittal, axial, and even better in the coronal views. Both tumors proved histologically to be meningiomas.

Conclusion: In evaluating spinal meningiomas, a gadolinium enhanced MRI of the spine in sagittal, axial, and especially coronal planes should be performed to detect "dural tails," very suggestive of meningioma. These three scanning planes are necessary to visualize the localization and extent of the tumors and their tails prior to surgery.