[Upper cervical discitis: case report].

A 48-year-old man complained of severe neck pain. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after intravenous injection of Gadolinium disclosed homogeneously enhanced masses in the retropharyngeal soft tissue, in the inter-vertebral disc space between C3 and C4, and in the spinal epidural space behind the vertebral body. The symptoms of the patient improved smoothly after intravenous injection of antibiotics without surgical procedure. In this case, MRI was very important and useful in the prompt diagnosis of the disease.