ISSN:
1432-1084
Keywords:
Brainstem, MR studies
;
Brainstem, abnormalities
;
Nervous system, MR studies
;
Nervous system, abnormalities
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract One thousand consecutive cranial MR exams were scrutinized for the neurovascular relationships of the vertebrobasilar arteries to the brainstem. Patients with indentations of the brainstem adjacent to vessels were evaluated for deficits of cranial nerves and long tracts by clinical and electrophysiological investigations unless an underlying neurologic disorder was present. The total incidence of neurovascular grooves was 8.3% with increasing frequency from the upper pons to the lower medulla and a higher rate in the older age and in males. Three different types of cross-sectional morphology could be identified. Two out of three were left-sided and mainly due to anterolateral contact of the left vertebral artery. No correlation between (sub)clinical neurological deficiencies and the grooves could be found, irrespective of their grade. Vascular grooves at the brainstem adjacent to the vertebrobasilar arteries are not too rare a finding, especially in the elderly, but even large indentations are unlikely to cause neurological deficits alone.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00171403
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