Purpose: The contrast medium dynamics of normal and abnormal bone marrow was examined by CT.
Material and method: Standardised sections of lumbar vertebrae were obtained after intravenous injection of 80 ml Ultravist 370 and time-density curves of the marrow spaces were calculated in 38 patients.
Results: Time-density curves of patients with normal bone marrow differed significantly from those with proliferative bone marrow diseases in respect of maximal density and uptake at 120 and 240 seconds. Patients treated by radiation showed reduced uptake.
Conclusion: Variations in the time-density curves between normal and abnormal bone marrow provided evidence of different perfusion and uptake of the contrast medium in the extracellular space of the bone marrow. Further investigation will be necessary to determine whether dynamic CT is able to document the effect of radiotherapy or chemotherapy on malignant bone marrow infiltration.