Automated machine-learning-assisted MRI report of the lumbar spine. It reports moderate disc degeneration (Pfirrmann grade 3) at L3-L4, L2-L3 and T12-L1, spinal canal narrowing (stenosis) detected at L3-L4 and L4-L5 below the reference threshold, and quantitative measurements of spinal curvature and muscles. The clinical interpretation section was left blank and the report notes it should be reviewed by a qualified radiologist.
Severity reflects your radiologist's own wording — not an AI judgment.
New or worsening symptoms? Contact your doctor promptly, whatever this summary says.
Pfirrmann grade 3; posterior disc height 8.01 mm, anterior disc height 10.93 mm
In plain words: Pfirrmann grading rates disc wear from 1 (normal) to 5 (severe). Grade 3 means moderate degeneration of the cushioning disc between these two spine bones.
Pfirrmann grade 3; posterior disc height 9.90 mm, anterior disc height 15.43 mm
In plain words: Grade 3 on the 1-to-5 disc-wear scale indicates moderate degeneration of this disc.
Pfirrmann grade 3; posterior disc height 9.21 mm, anterior disc height 12.59 mm
In plain words: Grade 3 indicates moderate wear of the disc between the lowest thoracic and first lumbar vertebra.
Detected stenosis with thecal sac area of 59.8 mm², below the 80 mm² threshold
In plain words: The thecal sac is the fluid-filled sheath around the spinal nerves. A cross-sectional area below the 80 mm² reference suggests narrowing (stenosis) of the canal at this level.
Detected stenosis with thecal sac area of 40.8 mm², below the 80 mm² threshold
In plain words: The measured space around the spinal nerves at this level is smaller than the reference value, indicating narrowing (stenosis) of the canal.
Pfirrmann grade 1; posterior disc height 6.04 mm, anterior disc height 9.79 mm
In plain words: Grade 1 on the 1-to-5 scale means the disc appears normal with no significant degeneration.
Pfirrmann grade 1; posterior disc height 11.50 mm, anterior disc height 17.03 mm
In plain words: Grade 1 means this disc appears normal.
Pfirrmann grade 1; posterior disc height 7.52 mm, anterior disc height 11.29 mm
In plain words: Grade 1 means this disc appears normal.
Pfirrmann grade 1; posterior disc height 8.73 mm, anterior disc height 9.69 mm
In plain words: Grade 1 means this disc appears normal.
Pfirrmann grade 1; posterior disc height 1.00 mm, anterior disc height 1.00 mm
In plain words: The disc was graded as normal (grade 1), but the listed disc heights of 1.00 mm are unusually small measurements reported by the automated system.
Lordosis angle 41°; scoliosis angle 7° (Cobb's angle measurements)
In plain words: These are measurements of the natural forward curve of the lower back (lordosis) and any sideways curve (scoliosis). They describe the shape of the spine.
Total volume 948.71 cm³ (left 491.53 cm³, right 457.18 cm³); left/right ratio 0.930; fat content 13.94%
In plain words: These are the muscles running alongside the spine. The report measures their size, left-to-right balance, and fat content within the muscle.
Total volume 324.53 cm³ (left 177.65 cm³, right 146.88 cm³); left/right ratio 0.827; fat content 3.68%
In plain words: The psoas are deep muscles connecting the spine to the hip. The report notes their size, left-to-right balance, and fat content.
Severity reflects the AI reading's own wording — it is not a diagnosis, and not your radiologist's opinion.
New or worsening symptoms? Contact your doctor promptly, whatever this summary says.
The disc is markedly darkened on T2 with loss of the normal bright central signal and reduced disc height compared with the levels above; its posterior margin extends toward and contacts the anterior thecal sac. This is the most significant finding of this series because loss of disc space and posterior disc contact with the thecal sac affects the neural space, outranking the purely signal changes at higher levels.
The disc shows reduced T2 signal (darker than the mid-lumbar discs) with mild loss of height; its posterior margin bulges slightly toward the anterior thecal sac. Compared with L5-S1 above, the signal loss and posterior extension here are less pronounced.
The two lowest intervertebral discs are lower in signal and slightly reduced in height compared with the discs above them, most conspicuous at the level just above the sacrum; the posterior disc margin is close to the anterior thecal sac at these levels.
The posterior disc margin is broad and mildly convex, contacting the anterior aspect of the thecal sac in the midline without a focal displaced fragment. The thecal sac remains bright and the traversing nerve roots are separable within it.
The posterior disc margin is convex and extends symmetrically backward beyond the adjacent bony rim into the ventral epidural space, contacting and flattening the anterior surface of the bright fluid-filled thecal sac just behind it. This is the most significant finding of this series because it alters a neighbouring structure — indenting the thecal sac — whereas the other observed structures only differ in their own appearance without displacing anything.
The bright T2 fluid signal within the sac is reduced in its anterior extent where the posterior disc contour presses on it, giving the sac a flattened front margin compared with its more rounded, uniformly bright appearance on the P6 slices.
At the disc-space slice the posterior margin of the disc is broad and gently convex, sitting flush against the front of the thecal sac; the bright fluid space behind it is maintained and there is no discrete fragment lying separate from the disc.
On the mid-sagittal slices there is a mild step in the posterior vertebral body line at the lower lumbar segments, with slight offset between adjacent bodies, altering the smooth curve of the lordosis.
On these sagittal STIR slices, no fluid-bright marrow signal, no vertebral body height loss, no cortical step or discontinuity, and no compression of the conus medullaris or thecal sac was seen in: the lumbar vertebral bodies, the visualized thoracolumbar junction, the intervertebral discs of the upper and mid lumbar spine, the bright cerebrospinal fluid of the thecal sac, the conus medullaris, and the posterior elements.
The thecal sac is rounded and bright with the cauda equina nerve roots seen as small low-signal dots layered within it; its margins are smooth and it is wider than at the level above, giving the clearest normal-appearing fluid space of this series.
The paired facet joints are symmetric with thin low-signal cortical margins and a fine fluid line, no fragment displaced and joint surfaces congruent.
Both sacroiliac joints are seen obliquely on the mid slices as thin cleft-like lines between the sacrum medially and the iliac bones laterally; their articular margins are smooth and the joint spaces are of even width on the two sides.
The paired foramina contain rounded intermediate-signal nerve roots surrounded by bright fat, appearing symmetric between the right and left sides on the lower slices; no foramen is effaced by adjacent structure on these views.
A rounded, well-circumscribed structure of fairly uniform intermediate signal sits immediately anterior to the vertebral body in the midline (slightly toward the patient's left on some slices), measuring roughly 1–1.5 cm across. It maintains a similar round cross-section throughout the stack and abuts the anterior cortex of the vertebral body without deforming it. This is the most conspicuous deviation on this series and outranks the other entries because it is a discrete rounded structure distinct from the surrounding retroperitoneal fat; it may represent a vascular structure or a node and cannot be characterised further on this single sequence.
The marrow of the sacral ala and the adjacent iliac bones shows a patchy, mottled T1 signal with mixed brighter (fatty) and slightly darker areas, symmetric between the two sides. This appearance does not displace or interrupt any cortical margin.
AI-assisted scan reading — not a clinical report
Issued: 2026-09-28
This document was generated by artificial intelligence from the scan images. It is an explanatory aid, NOT a diagnosis and NOT a substitute for a radiologist report. Always discuss it with your doctor.
Whole-exam read: 16 of 22 series, 183 representative slices in total.
This is an MRI of your lower back (lumbar spine). The readings consistently describe wear-type changes in the two lowest discs, where the discs are darker and slightly lower in height and their back edges sit close to or gently touch the fluid-filled sac that holds the nerves (the thecal sac). Several other observations were noted, but the different readings did not agree on some of them, and one reading alone raised a few points — those need a radiologist to settle. Some scan series (setup/locator images) were not included in this reading, so this explanation does not cover everything on the study.
The most consistent theme across the readings is wear-type change in the two lowest discs of the lower back — the discs look darker and a little flatter, and their back edges sit close to or gently touch the thecal sac (the fluid sac holding the nerves). Disc changes like these are common and can sometimes be associated with back pain or nerve-related symptoms, but this report on its own cannot say whether they explain your specific symptoms. Importantly, several observations were seen by only one reading, or the readings disagreed about them, including whether the thecal sac is being flattened at one level and the rounded structure in front of the spine — these are not settled and a radiologist and your doctor need to review the actual images to interpret them. This reading also did not include some of the scan's setup/locator series, so it does not cover the whole study, and it cannot rule anything out. Your symptoms are wide-ranging (tingling across the body, sweating, temperature sensations, confusion, breathing difficulty and chest pain), and many of these are not things a lumbar spine MRI is designed to explain, so it is worth discussing them fully with your doctor.
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