Radiological intervention is often necessary to confirm the presence of vertebral osteomyelitis in the body. Plain-film radiological orders are necessary for all patients displaying symptoms of the disease. This diagnostic approach is often preliminary to other radiological procedures, such as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, computed tomography (CT) scan, fine-needle aspiration biopsy, and nuclear scintigraphy. The initial plain-film X-ray images are scanned for any indication of disc compression between two vertebrae or the degeneration of one or more vertebrae. Only when these findings are ambiguous is further testing necessary to diagnose the disease. Other radiological approaches offer more comprehensive imaging of the spinal area, but can often prove inconclusive.