Iatrogenic Spinal Subdural Collections: A Review of Spinal Meningeal Anatomy, Pathomechanisms, and Multimodality Imaging Findings

Iatrogenic spinal subdural collections are rare and can arise from a multitude of procedures performed in radiology, the emergency department, surgery, and other clinical settings. For the radiologist, a firm understanding of imaging findings in spinal subdural collections is required for both diagnostic and image-guided procedures. Iatrogenic spinal subdural collections may stem from bedside, image-guided, or surgical procedures. The presence of spinal subdural collections may reflect benign or pathologic processes. In this review article, we discussed the pathologic and anatomic basis for the development of iatrogenic spinal subdural collections as well as imaging findings across multiple imaging modalities.

Learning Objective: Understand spinal meningeal anatomy and pathomechanisms that lead to subdural collections; recognize key imaging features that distinguish spinal subdural collections from epidural or subarachnoid collections; recognize imaging findings of subdural collections during image-guided procedures to prevent misplaced injections.