HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Need help! Kind of in a panic about bone scan results

Lani · 04-13-2007, 08:36 PM

The pedicle is the part of the vertebrae that metastases usually like to set up housekeeping in rather than the vertebral body, transverse process, spinal process or lamina. There are two pedicles to each vertebra and they sit between the back of the vertebral body (the marshmellow shaped main part of the bone) and the two transverse processes. They are distinct from the facet joints(also two per vertebral level), which are the only true joints in the back, the ones which can get arthritic.

Bone scans pick up processes which tend to affect the cortical (hard outer) rather than processes which tend to affect the spongy (more porous inner) bone--metastases are usually thought be affect the inner part of the bone first and primarily. MRIs tend to show up processes affecting the inner part of the bone better than the hard outer shell.

That is why I think the radiologist suggested going to an MRI rather than a CT
(but of course I could definitely be wrong)

My 86 year old father just had an abdominal MRI which showed something affecting two transverse processes in his lumbar spine. A bone scan lit up in the area as well as in his sternum (Breast bone), right costcochondral junction(junction of rib and cartilage) around rib 5 and also in the mid rib 6 area--just along the course a seatbelt would injure one in a collision. And, yes, my dad was involved in an auto
accident this past fall. In fact, an area of his pelvis injured 15 months ago when the dog pulled too hard also lit up on the bone scan.

Not to bore you, just to point out that many things can light up and even more than one year after the occurrence.

Hope some of this helped.

04-13-2007, 08:36 PM	#12
Lani Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4,780	thoughts The pedicle is the part of the vertebrae that metastases usually like to set up housekeeping in rather than the vertebral body, transverse process, spinal process or lamina. There are two pedicles to each vertebra and they sit between the back of the vertebral body (the marshmellow shaped main part of the bone) and the two transverse processes. They are distinct from the facet joints(also two per vertebral level), which are the only true joints in the back, the ones which can get arthritic. Bone scans pick up processes which tend to affect the cortical (hard outer) rather than processes which tend to affect the spongy (more porous inner) bone--metastases are usually thought be affect the inner part of the bone first and primarily. MRIs tend to show up processes affecting the inner part of the bone better than the hard outer shell. That is why I think the radiologist suggested going to an MRI rather than a CT (but of course I could definitely be wrong) My 86 year old father just had an abdominal MRI which showed something affecting two transverse processes in his lumbar spine. A bone scan lit up in the area as well as in his sternum (Breast bone), right costcochondral junction(junction of rib and cartilage) around rib 5 and also in the mid rib 6 area--just along the course a seatbelt would injure one in a collision. And, yes, my dad was involved in an auto accident this past fall. In fact, an area of his pelvis injured 15 months ago when the dog pulled too hard also lit up on the bone scan. Not to bore you, just to point out that many things can light up and even more than one year after the occurrence. Hope some of this helped.