Abrodil myelography in herniated disk in the lumbar region.

Abstract

Following the report by Arnell and Lidstrom (1) in 1931 dealing with the use of a water-soluble contrast medium (abrodil) in myelography, this method of examination has attracted ever-increasing attention, and it has been the subject of numerous articles (2–5). The irritant effect of the medium, necessitating spinal anesthesia, restricts its use in myelography to the lumbar spine. The main indication for abrodil myelography is thus herniated disk in the lumbar region, which, according to Dandy (6), occurs at the fourth or fifth lumbar interspace in 98 per cent of the cases. The contrast medium used at the Department of Radiology of Rikshospitalet, Oslo, is a 20 per cent solution of “myelotrast AL,” which is the chemical equivalent of abrodil, i.e., the sodium salt of monoiodo-methane-sulfonic acid. This solution has a specific gravity of 1.130 and a pH of about 6.2. The technic employed at present is based on that described by Lindblom (7) and Klason (8) and is as follows: The patient is placed on a tilti...