We report two cases of neurinoma arising from the lumbar nerve roots, with different proliferating patterns.
The first case was a 77-year-old male who complained of low back pain with sensory desturbance of the lower limbs.
Gradually, he developed bladder and bowel dysfunction and worsening of his intermittent claudication Roentgenographic examination showed osteolysis of the L4 vertebral body and disappearance of the right pedicle of the fourth lumbar vertebra. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumorous lesion spreading from the spinal canal to the intervertebral foramen and the fourth vertebral body. T1-weighted images showed the tumor to be of iso signal intensity and with T2-weighted images, high signal intensity images were found.
The second case was a 56-year-old male who complaind of pain in the left lower limb. Roentgenographic examination did not show any change in his lumbar vertebra. MR imaging showed a tumorous lesion arising from the left third lumbar nerve root. The lesion spread from the intervertebral foramen to the extravertebral foramen. With T1-weighted images, the tumor was seen to be of iso signal intensity and with T2-weighted images, high signal intensity.