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YOUR SCAN, IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Radiology report — lumbar spine MRI

Asked: “Can you explain what this MRI report actually says?”

Summary

OVERALL TAKEAWAY

This MRI found a small disc bulge in your lower back that is pressing on a nerve on the left side. That is the most likely reason for the pain going down your left leg.

Your lower back was scanned to find out why your left leg hurts. The scan found one small bulge in a disc — the cushion between two bones in your spine — at the level called L4-L5. That bulge is touching a nerve on the left, and that nerve runs down your left leg, which is why the radiologist thinks it may be causing your symptoms. The rest of the scan is reassuring: your bones line up normally, there is no narrowing of the main spinal canal, and the other wear the scan describes is the ordinary kind that shows up on most adult scans. The report says this bulge "may correlate" with your symptoms, which is careful wording — it means the picture fits, not that the cause is settled. That is a decision for the clinician who ordered the scan.

None at any level
4Key points
About 4 mmDisc protrusion
None at any levelSpinal canal stenosis

Key points

  • What the scan foundA small disc protrusion, about 4 mm, at L4-L5 on the left, touching the nerve that runs down your left leg. Source: IMPRESSION 1
  • Why your leg may hurtThe report connects that nerve contact to the leg symptoms you described, using the careful phrase "may correlate". Source: IMPRESSION 1
  • What looks normalBone height, alignment and marrow signal are all normal, and there is no spinal canal narrowing at any level. Source: FINDINGS
  • Ordinary wearDisc desiccation at L4-L5 and L5-S1 means those discs have dried out a little. The report calls this mild, and it is common. Source: IMPRESSION 2

"May correlate" is not a diagnosis

The report offers this as a likely explanation, not a confirmed one. Your clinician decides whether the scan explains your symptoms.

Findings

Report findings

What the scan foundA small disc protrusion, about 4 mm, at L4-L5 on the left, touching the nerve that runs down your left leg.
Why your leg may hurtThe report connects that nerve contact to the leg symptoms you described, using the careful phrase "may correlate".
What looks normalBone height, alignment and marrow signal are all normal, and there is no spinal canal narrowing at any level.
Ordinary wearDisc desiccation at L4-L5 and L5-S1 means those discs have dried out a little. The report calls this mild, and it is common.

Where this came from

SourceIMPRESSION
SourceFINDINGS
SourceTECHNIQUE
Read the document these came from

Next steps

Suggested next steps

  1. 1

    Book a follow-up with the clinician who ordered the scan, and bring the questions above.Clariti can turn this into an email check-in or a concise question list.

  2. 2

    Ask whether physiotherapy is the right first step for a finding this size.Clariti can turn this into an email check-in or a concise question list.

  3. 3

    Keep a short note of when the leg pain is worst, so the follow-up has something concrete to work from.Clariti can turn this into an email check-in or a concise question list.

Questions worth asking

  • Does the L4-L5 finding explain my left leg symptoms, or should we look for another cause?
  • Is a 4 mm protrusion something that usually settles on its own?
  • What would make you consider something more than physiotherapy?
  • Are there movements I should avoid while this settles?
Clariti explains what this report says. It does not diagnose, and it does not replace the clinician who ordered the scan. Sudden weakness, numbness around the groin, or loss of bladder or bowel control needs urgent medical care.

The document Clariti read

Invented for this page, start to finish. “Alex Sample” is not a person and MRN 000-DEMO is not a record number. Every quote above is in the text below — that is what the source lines are for.

PATIENT: Sample, Alex   MRN: 000-DEMO
EXAM: MRI LUMBAR SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST
INDICATION: Low back pain radiating to the left leg for 6 weeks.

TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar, multisequence imaging of the lumbar spine was performed
without intravenous contrast.

COMPARISON: None available.

FINDINGS:
Vertebral body heights and alignment are maintained. Marrow signal is normal.
The conus medullaris terminates at L1 and appears normal.
L3-L4: Mild disc desiccation without significant disc bulge. No stenosis.
L4-L5: Broad-based disc bulge with a small left paracentral protrusion measuring
approximately 4 mm, contacting the traversing left L5 nerve root. Mild facet
arthropathy. Mild left neural foraminal narrowing.
L5-S1: Disc desiccation with mild loss of disc height. No focal protrusion.
No spinal canal stenosis at any level.

IMPRESSION:
1. Small left paracentral disc protrusion at L4-L5 contacting the traversing
   left L5 nerve root, with mild left neural foraminal narrowing. This may
   correlate with the reported left leg symptoms.
2. Mild degenerative disc disease at L4-L5 and L5-S1.
3. No spinal canal stenosis.

Radiology report — lumbar spine MRI

What this page leaves out

Everything above is the analysis itself, whole. What is missing is the part that needs an account: the chat where you keep asking until it makes sense, the short explainer video and illustrations Clariti builds from these same source lines, comparing a newer scan against this one, and the email check-in. Nothing on this page sends anything anywhere.

Now with the paperwork you actually have

One document at a time, photographed or pasted. Clariti explains what it says in plain language and helps you work out what to ask next — it does not diagnose.

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