The rapid development of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the management of spinal angiomas has opened up new possibilities and provided better chances for the patients concerned. The greatest impetus to this pro gress was given by the introduction of selective and superselective spinal angiography, microsurgical technique, and embolization. These sophisticated techniques and the skill required for their use are far from being routine in the neurosurgical and neuroradiologic departments. In spite of the rarity of spinal angiomas, the application of the above-mentioned procedures is the prerequisite for improving early diagnosis and giving timely adequate treat ment. Delay in diagnosis and treatment are still the main cause of unsatisfac tory results. In the last 10 -20 years, several groups in Europe and the USA have done important and fundamental work in introducing and developing the diganos tic and therapeutic armamentarium. Based on the pioneering work of their teachers and the classic contribution of Wyburn - Mason in 1943, they simultaneously improved the morphologic, physiologic, and clinical basis of our knowledge. Although progress is going on and many problems have to be solved, the general principles of clinical diagnosis, operative treatment, and embolization have been laid down and are to be published in a special monograph on this topic."

Spinal phlebography is an "indirect" radiologic technique for investigating verte bromedullary pathology. It is a harmless and almost painless technique that does not require the introduction of contrast medium into the subarachnoid spaces. Its interpretation is based on the modifications of the epidural veins which do not themselves have any proven pathology. The longitudinal epidural veins are situated in the anterolateral angles of the spinal canal between the nerve root and the intervertebral disc. They conse quently represent a major anatomic landmark in the investigation of disc pathol ogy because they are compressed by a disc herniation before the corresponding nerve root is reached. The improvement of the techniques of lumbar phlebography by catheterization of the lateral sacral veins and of cervical phlebography by catheterization of the vertebral veins now permits opacification of the epidural venous system along the total length of the lumbar and cervical spine. Spinal phlebography can consequently be used routinely, primarily in disc pathology but now also in other fields of vertebromedullary pathology such as myelopathy, tumors, or stenosis of the spinal canal, where it provides new information as compared to the other techniques of investigation. The techniq ue and results of spinal phlebography in these various conditions are presented in this monograph which is an attempt, with the collaboration of several authors, to summarize current knowledge in this field. Only lumbar and cervical phlebography will be discussed in this monograph.