European Radiology

, Volume 18, Issue 6, pp 1232–1243 | Cite as

Skull base: pseudolesion or true lesion?

Head and Neck
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

The skull base is a complex anatomical structure. Therefore, radiologists often use “side-to-side” comparison for detection of abnormalities. This approach is compromised by the high frequency of anatomical variations involving the skull base and the common presence of flow-related artifacts within vessels at the skull base that might mimic true lesions. The spectrum of “pseudolesions” ranging from different anatomical variations, such as unusual arachnoid granulations, asymmetric pneumatization and/or appearance of neurovascular foramina, to flow-related artifacts will be discussed in this review article, and tips for their distinction from a true lesion in a similar location will be given.

Keywords

Skull base Normal variants Pseudolesions Symmetric pneumatization Symmetric skull base foramina 
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Copyright information

© European Society of Radiology 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.North Florida/South Georgia Veterans AdministrationGainesvilleUSA
  2. 2.Department of RadiologyUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleUSA

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