What are the features that are more in keeping with spinal astrocytoma rather than ependymoma?
Spinal astrocytomas more common in children, can affect the whole spine, show patchy enhancement , more eccentric and less commonly show hemorrhagic or cystic component.
Spinal MRI sagittal and axial images show an ill-defined intra-medullary lesion occupying the cervical and thoracic parts of the spinal cord and causing expansion of the cord. It shows iso to low intense signal on T1, high intense signal on T2 with small cystic component distally. No haemorrhagic component. The lesion shows peripheral enhancement on post contrast images.
Axial T2 of brain shows no abnormal signal.