ROENTGENOGRAPHICALLY VISIBLE CALCIFICATIONS IN SPINAL MENINGIOMA

¹ Associate Clinical Professor of Radiology, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado; and Chief of Radiology, Porter Memorial Hospital, Denver, Colorado.
² Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado

Twenty-two prior cases of roentgenographically discernible calcifications in spinal meningioma have been reported since 1931, in addition to 6 cases presented here.

Spinal meningiomas arise from the cells of the spinal arachnoid villi. Psammoma bodies are especially frequent in the spinal variety, but bands of osseous tissue may also occur and the roentgen appearance results from myriad small calcifications within the psammoma bodies from irregular plaques of ossification or from a combination of these.

Meningiomas comprise 22.5 to 32 per cent of all intraspinal tumors and occur most commonly in the thoracic spine. There is a preponderant occurrence in women with an average age of 50 years. Roentgenographically recognizable calcifications have been reported in from 2 to 33.3 per cent of spinal meningiomas.

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