Your MRI report, in plain English
Radiology reports are written for clinicians, not for the person holding them. Here is what each term actually means — and, just as importantly, what it does not.
Disc protrusion
A disc protrusion means a spinal disc is bulging outward a little, but its outer ring is still intact — nothing has broken through.
Read →A disc bulge is not a slipped disc
A disc bulge means the disc extends a bit past where it normally sits, all the way around. It is one of the most common findings on any spine MRI.
Read →A herniated disc
A herniation means some of the disc's soft centre has pushed through the outer ring. Contained is a protrusion; broken through is a herniation.
Read →Why sciatica travels down your leg
Sciatica is not a diagnosis — it is a description. It means pain following the path of the sciatic nerve, usually down the back of one leg.
Read →A pinched nerve is crowded
Nothing is literally pinching. A nerve root leaves the spine through a small opening, and something is crowding that space.
Read →Spinal stenosis means narrowing
Stenosis simply means narrowing — the canal that carries your spinal nerves has less room than average.
Read →Foraminal stenosis is a narrowed exit door
The foramen is the doorway a nerve root uses to leave your spine. Foraminal stenosis means that doorway is narrower than usual.
Read →An annular tear sounds far worse than it is
The annulus is the disc's outer ring. A tear — many radiologists prefer "fissure" — is a small crack in that ring.
Read →Disc desiccation is your spine's grey hair
Desiccation means the disc has lost some of its water content. On MRI it looks darker, which is how the radiologist spots it.
Read →Degenerative disc disease is not a disease
Despite the name, it is not a disease and it is not necessarily progressive. It describes age-related changes in the discs.
Read →Disc extrusion is a herniation that came through
An extrusion means disc material has pushed through the outer ring and out beyond it — further along than a protrusion, which stays contained.
Read →Spondylolisthesis means one vertebra slid forward
It means one vertebra has slipped forward relative to the one below it. Reports grade it 1 to 4 by how far — grade 1 is slight and very common.
Read →Facet arthropathy is wear in the spine's small joints
Your vertebrae connect at the back through small facet joints. Facet arthropathy means those joints show wear — the spine's version of arthritis anywhere else.
Read →Radiculopathy is a nerve root being irritated
Radiculopathy is the medical word for a spinal nerve root being irritated or compressed — the mechanism behind pain, tingling or weakness that travels down a limb.
Read →Modic changes are signals in the bone next to a disc
Modic changes are signals the MRI picks up in the bone of the vertebrae right next to a worn disc. They are graded by type (1, 2 and 3).
Read →This page explains the term. The app explains your report.
Every report is worded differently — the level, the wording, whether a nerve is involved. SpinalAI reads your own report and tells you what yours says, in plain English, in seconds.
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