Music Staff on MRI Lumbar Spine - fun

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As a new hobby project I recently took on some digital piano and synthesizer training. Part of it is to learn to read the notes. And somehow I keep on seeing five lines of staff even om MRI images :) ! This localizer incidentally even shows the grand staff. :) 

You can see a little annular tear in a place of previous disk herniation. 

The numbering of lumbar levels is often a matter of discussion. Previous exam has called the lowest lumbar vertebra as L5. I used the same numbering but in fact the vertebra that is called L5 on this image is a transitional vertebra that is partially sacral vertebra - so it could be called S1. I made a note on my report for the clinician that in case of operation it is important to correlate the level of operation with fluoroscopy. 

For correct numbering of spinal lumbar levels I look for proximal parts of ribs 12 on sagittal images and count from what I assume as L5 upwards. When I have the whole spine or CT, especially with coronal images, then the life is much easier. Also previous x-rays can be helpful. Sometimes we see hypoplastic 13th ribs or simply 11 thoracic vertebra. There are a lot of normal anatomic variants. 

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