MR MEASUREMENT OF NORMAL AND PATHOLOGIC BRAIN-STEM DIAMETERS

  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 6  (3) , 425-427
Abstract
The dimensions of the brain stem were measured on magnetic resonance (MR) images to provide criteria for detecting brainstem enlargement. Twenty-eight normal adult subjects had MR imaging with sagittal partial-saturation and spin-echo sequences. Four patients with brain-stem gliomas and 3 with cerebellar atrophy were also studied. Five measurements were made: the distance between the interpeduncular fissure and the aqueduct, the distance from the anterior surface of the cerebral peduncles to the aqueduct, the distance between the anterior surface of the pons midway between the mesencephalon and medulla to the 4th ventricular floor, the shortest anteroposterior diameter of the medulla at the pontomedullary junction, and the shortest anteroposterior diameter of the medulla at the medullospinal junction. Pontine diameter could be measured more reproducibly and accurately than mesencephalic or medullary diameters. In 4 patients with glioma, 1 or more of the measured diameters were more than 2 SD above the average in normal volunteers, and abnormally small measurements were found in the patients with atrophy.

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