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Skull-Base Tumors and Related Disorders

Radiological Approach

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Clinical Neuroradiology

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Abstract

Skull base lesions can be a diagnostic challenge due to the complex anatomy, technical challenges in magnetic resonance imaging of the region, the possibility of pseudotumors, and a wide variety of intrinsic bone lesions as well as head and neck pathology with extension into the skull base. Firstly some key points on the CT and MRI techniques used in clinical neuroradiology of the skull base region are addressed, followed by a brief discussion on what kind of information the surgeon expects to find in the radiology report. Secondly, the skull base lesions without a predilection site are reviewed, predominantly focusing on the most frequent pathology but also providing examples of some very rare tumors. Finally, an overview of the radiology of skull base tumors and pseudotumors is provided according to their common site of origin, focusing on typical clinical and imaging features.

This publication is endorsed by: European Society of Neuroradiology (www.esnr.org).

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Abbreviations

ABC:

Aneurysmal bone cyst

ANCA:

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies

ASB:

Anterior skull base

CGCG:

Central giant-cell granuloma

CPA:

Cerebellopontine angle

CSB:

Central skull base

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

CT:

Computed tomography

DSC:

Dynamic susceptibility contrast

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

ELST:

Endolymphatic sac tumors

EPI:

Echoplanar imaging

GCT:

Giant-cell tumor

Gd:

Gadolinium

GRE:

Gradient echo

JF:

Jugular foramen

LEDS:

Large endolymphatic duct and sac

LHC:

Langerhans cell histiocytosis

MRA:

Magnetic resonance angiography

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PSB:

Posterior skull base

SNHL:

Sensorineural hearing loss

T1WI:

T1-weighted images

T2WI:

T2-weighted images

TOF:

Time of flight

TSE:

Turbo spin echo

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, AZ St-Jan Brugge-Oostende, Bruges, Belgium

    Jan W. Casselman & Stephanie Vanden Bossche

  2. Department of Radiology, AZ St-Augustinus, Antwerp, Belgium

    Jan W. Casselman & Bert De Foer

  3. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Jan W. Casselman

  4. Department of Radiology, AZ Jan Palfijn, Ghent, Belgium

    Stephanie Vanden Bossche

  5. Morton and Partners Radiologists, Cape Town, South Africa

    Elias Pretorius

Authors
  1. Jan W. Casselman
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  2. Stephanie Vanden Bossche
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  3. Elias Pretorius
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  4. Bert De Foer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie Vanden Bossche .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Centre (VUmc), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Frederik Barkhof

  2. The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and University College Hospital (UCH), UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK

    Hans Rolf Jäger

  3. Section of Neuroradiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, University Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Majda M. Thurnher

  4. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Vall d’Hebron University Hospital Professor of Radiology and Neuroimmunology, Autonomous University of Barcelona Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain

    Àlex Rovira

Section Editor information

  1. University College London, London, UK

    Rolf Jäger

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Casselman, J.W., Vanden Bossche, S., Pretorius, E., De Foer, B. (2019). Skull-Base Tumors and Related Disorders. In: Barkhof, F., Jäger, H., Thurnher, M., Rovira, À. (eds) Clinical Neuroradiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68536-6_60

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68536-6_60

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68535-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68536-6

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