Abstract
Cranial nerves (CN) provide efferent (motor, autonomic) and afferent (sensory and autonomic) innervation to the head, face, and neck. Isolated CN palsies come with a typical differential diagnosis (e.g., vestibular schwannoma in hearing loss), based on the CN and the segment involved (central, cisternal, foraminal, peripheral). Multiple cranial nerves palsies reflect the impact of pathology in certain anatomical regions such as the cavernous sinus or systemic disorders such as sarcoid.
The first part of this chapter discusses recommended radiological techniques for the imaging of cranial nerve with a focus on the segment involved. The second part reviews the essential anatomy and clinical neuroradiology approach for each CN to depict the most frequent pathologies, including neoplasm (perineural tumor spread, meningioma, schwannoma), infectious/inflammatory diseases, vascular diseases including neurovascular compression, and trauma.
This publication is endorsed by: European Society of Neuroradiology (www.esnr.org).
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Abbreviations
- AICA:
-
Anterior inferior cerebellar artery
- CISS:
-
Constructive interference in steady state
- CN:
-
Cranial nerve
- CPA:
-
Cerebello-pontine angle
- DWI:
-
Diffusion-weighted imaging
- Fat-sat:
-
Fat-saturation
- FIESTA:
-
Fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition
- Gad:
-
Gadolinium
- ICA:
-
Internal carotid artery
- IJV:
-
Internal jugular vein
- INO:
-
Internuclear ophthalmoplegia
- MR:
-
Magnetic resonance
- MRA:
-
Magnetic resonance angiography
- MS:
-
Multiple sclerosis
- NVCS:
-
Neurovascular compression syndrome
- PCA:
-
Posterior cerebral artery
- PICA:
-
Posterior inferior cerebellar artery
- REZ:
-
Root entry zone
- SCA:
-
Superior cerebellar artery
- SPACE:
-
Sampling perfection with application optimized contrast
- THRIVE:
-
T1-weighted high-resolution isotropic volume examination
- TOF:
-
Time of flight (angiography)
- TSE:
-
Turbo spin echo
- TZ:
-
Transition zone
- VIBE:
-
Volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination
Suggested Reading
Casselman J, Mermuys K, Delanote J, Ghekiere J, Coenegrachts K. MRI of the cranial nerves – more than meets the eye: technical considerations and advanced anatomy. Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2008;18(2):197–231.
Leblanc A. The cranial nerves. Anatomy, imaging, vascularisation. Vienna: Springer; 1995.
Naidich T. Cranial nerves: intra-axial and cisternal segments. In: Duvernoy’s atlas of the human brain stem and cerebellum. Vienna: Springer; 2009.
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Haller, S., Barkhof, F., Smithuis, R., Schuknecht, B. (2019). Cranial Nerves. In: Barkhof, F., Jager, R., Thurnher, M., Rovira Cañellas, A. (eds) Clinical Neuroradiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61423-6_84-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61423-6_84-1
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