MRI has a very good sensitivity for bone marrow examination. 280 patients were examined mainly because of clinical symptoms related to the lumbar spine. The majority of patients were diagnosed as degenerative changes. Further smaller groups comprised patients suffering from metastatic, inflammatory, traumatic or postirradiation changes. In some case the fat suppression technique helped in the differential diagnosis while application of Gd-DTPA was unrewarding.

        Key words: magnetic resonance imaging - bone marrow - metastases - spinal degenerative disease - differential diagnosis