Vertebral haemangioma. Coloured sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the lumbar spine of a 56-year-old patient with a vertebral haemangioma. The front of the spine is at left in this view from the side. The spinal cord (white) is seen to the right of the vertebral blocks (square shapes) that form the spinal column. A haemangioma is a benign blood vessel tumour, here seen at upper left inside one of the spinal bones (vertebrae). The other spinal vertebrae (around 6 seen here) are dark, but the one at upper left (the L2 vertebra) is white due to the presence of the haemangioma, which is causing pain by compressing the spinal cord. In such cases, the haemangioma is surgically removed.