The neonatal cisterna magna: ultrasonic evaluation.

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Abstract
The normal topography of the region of the cisterna magna can be delineated by cranial ultrasound in [human] neonates. Evaluation of this region requires ultrasonic imaging of the echodense occipital bone and the inferior vermis, as well as approximation of the plane of the foramen magnum. It also requires imaging of the anechoic cisterna magna and fastigium of the 4th ventricle. To appreciate subtle alterations in size and/or position of these structures, standardized measurements for the midsagittal height of the cisterna magna and the distance of the fastigium of the 4th ventricle from the plane of the foramen magnum were established. Normal values established by measurement in 59 patients were cisterna magna 4.52 .+-. 1.29 mm and fastigium of the 4th ventricle 16.05 .+-. 3.03 mm. These dimensions were demonstrated to be abnormally increased in posterior fossa arachnoid cysts, Dandy-Walker syndrome and hydrocephalus.