Infrared thermographic imaging visualizes noninvasively various abnormal condition by detecting the skin temperature. As the imaging represents the objective condition by the changes in blood flow under the control of autonomic nervous system, it is used to diagnosis and monitor the lumboscral radiculopathy. And asymmetry is important in the diagnosis of disc herniation. The most common type of disc herniation occurs psoterolaterally. This frequently causes nerve root compression leading to a radiculopathy in the distribution of the involved nerve root, most of which also provoke the asymmetric changes in thermography. Central disc herniation, which accounts for 5% to 35% of disc herniation, is typically associated with low back pain. But radiculopathy is usually abscent unless central disc heriniaton is large enough to cause compression of the cauda equina. To evalute the diagnostic value of the thermographic imaging in the diagnosis of central disc herniation, the imaging of 15 normal subjects and 48 patients with central disc herniation documented by CT scan were analyzed. The patients had either bilateral radiculophathy or no radiculopathy. The imaging of patient group with non rediculopathy did not show any significant thermal difference to control. While bilateral radiculopathy group reveled hypothermic pattern compared twith control. Thermal difference between left and right side did not present any significance in non radiculopathy group but hypothermia in bilateral radiculopathy group. Large herniation group demonstrated hyperthemic pattern while the others showed no significant change. Cranial caudal thermal difference did not show any difference between experiment groups. These results shows that infrared thermographic imaging can be used central disc herniation with bilateral radiculopathy, while it seems to little useful on the diagnosis of non radiculopathic disc herniation.