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Plicae palmatae of the cervical canal visualized on MRI

¹ Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, ² Department of Radiology, Kyoto University Hospital, and Departments of ³ Gynecology and Obstetrics and, ⁴ Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Correspondence: Takashi Koyama, Department of Radiology, Kyoto University Hospital, 54 Kawahara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606–8507, Japan. E-mail: montpeti{at}kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp

We report a case in which plicae palmatae (a normal anatomical structure of the cervix) was demonstrated on MRI. A 33-year-old woman with endometrial cancer underwent a pre-operative MRI examination before total abdominal hysterectomy. Axial T₂ weighted images through the cervix demonstrated a longitudinal line of distinct hypointensity confined to the cervical canal. Gross examination of the surgical specimen revealed a relatively large median longitudinal ridge, as well as shorter folds fanning out laterally and upward, which were clearly identifiable on the endocervical wall. The midline longitudinal ridge was considered to represent a portion of the plicae palmatae, which are folds on the anterior and posterior walls of the uterine cervical canal. On MRI, one should avoid misdiagnosing this line of hypointensity as a septate uterus.