Head and Cervical Spine MRI (Combined)

Combined MRI of the brain and cervical spine in a single session. Efficient imaging for patients with symptoms that may originate from either the cranium or the cervical spine.

This combined examination covers the entire neurocranium and all seven cervical vertebrae in one appointment, providing an integrated assessment of the brain, craniocervical junction, spinal cord, and cervical nerve roots. The approach is more efficient and cost-effective than booking the two regions separately, and ensures that the radiologist can correlate findings across both anatomical areas. The head component follows the standard brain protocol with T1, T2, FLAIR, and diffusion-weighted sequences. The cervical spine component adds sagittal and axial T1 and T2 sequences optimized for disc herniation, foraminal stenosis, cord signal abnormality, and facet joint disease. Special attention is given to the craniocervical junction — an area where pathology in one region frequently manifests with symptoms referred to the other. This combined scan is commonly requested for patients with headaches accompanied by neck pain, cervicogenic vertigo, occipital neuralgia, suspected Chiari malformation, and post-traumatic assessment where both head and cervical injury must be excluded.