Conditions our MRI scans have found

Sometimes the salts and minerals in the urine can crystalize and form kidney stones. A calyceal stone is a kidney stone found in the renal calyces, cavities in which urine collects before it flows into the urinary bladder.

Caliectasis occurs when there is excess fluid in your calyces (cavities in which urine collects before it flows into the urinary bladder). Causes of caliectasis include blockage/obstruction in the kidneys, cysts, tumors, kidney stones, urine buildup (hydronephrosis), and urinary tract infections.

Hematospermia, the term used to describe the presence of blood in the semen, is an uncommon condition. While it is usually alarming to individuals, the condition typically resolves spontaneously. The cause is almost always benign (non-cancerous) and often no clear cause can be identified, which can make it a challenging condition. It can manifest as a single episode or recur over the course of weeks to months. Known causes include, but are not limited to, following radiation treatment for prostate cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, and bleeding from blood thinners. In individuals over 40 with hematospermia, genitourinary cancers (i.e. prostate, seminal vesicles) should be considered, but the rate of such cancers is low, even after long-term follow-up.

As an individual ages, it is common to develop small degenerative abnormalities of the spine such as disc bulges or herniations. Degenerative changes that do occur here can lead to symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling, and/or restricted motion.

The centrum semiovale is the white matter oval shaped core of the cerebral hemispheres (the left and right side of the brain). White matter is the brain tissue that contains nerve fibers and serves as the connection to other parts of the brain. White matter hyperintensities are common changes seen on MRI in asymptomatic individuals (those with no symptoms), and their prevalence increases with age, to nearly 100% in those older than 90 years. The possible causes of white matter hyperintensities include chronic microvascular ischemic changes, vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation), migraine, Lyme disease or demyelinating disease.

The choroid fissure is the C-shaped site of attachment of the choroid plexus (secretory tissue that produces cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) in the lateral ventricles (a communicating network of cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] and located within the brain tissue). A choroid fissure cyst is a radiological term that indicates the location of the cyst in the brain and is a benign finding.