Unusual and memorable
Unusual and memorable
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
A 70 year old man with a 10 year history of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis presented with low back pain. Lumbar spine radiographs showed intervertebral disc space narrowing, vacuum phenomena, and irregularity of the subchondral margins of the vertebral bodies with erosions and sclerosis (fig 1). Aspiration, under x ray guidance, of the intervertebral disc space produced a dry aspirate. Bacterial (including acid fast bacilli), and fungal culture of aspirated contrast material was negative.
Rheumatoid discitis is uncommon in the lumbar spine and the cause remains unclear. Postulated mechanisms include, apophyseal joint synovitis with extension into the vertebral body-intervertebral disc junction; synovial infiltration into the fissures within the degenerating nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc; and neuropathic alterations secondary to analgesia or corticosteroid therapy.1 The changes may also relate to apophyseal joint instability with abnormal motion at the corresponding discovertebral junction, leading to herniation of portions of the disc producing cartilaginous node formation.2
| Figure Removed (Available Only in the Full Text) |
Contributors: GARY D WRIGHT. Department of Rheumatology, Musgrave Park Hospital, Stockman's Lane, Belfast, BT9 7JB, UK. MICHAEL DOHERTY. Department of Rheumatology, City Hospital, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK.
References
| 1. |
Sims-Williams H,
Jayson MIV,
Bradley H. Rheumatoid involvement of the lumbar spine.
Ann Rheum Dis
1977;36:524-531 |
| 2. | Resnick D. Thoracolumbar spine abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 1978;37:389-391. |
© 1997 by Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Submit a response
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
