The compartment containing the anterior extremities and half the inferior surface of the temporal lobes (TEMPORAL LOBE) of the cerebral hemispheres. Lying posterior and inferior to the anterior cranial fossa (CRANIAL FOSSA, ANTERIOR), it is formed by part of the TEMPORAL BONE and SPHENOID BONE. It is separated from the posterior cranial fossa (CRANIAL FOSSA, POSTERIOR) by crests formed by the superior borders of the petrous parts of the temporal bones.
The compartment containing the inferior part and anterior extremities of the frontal lobes (FRONTAL LOBE) of the cerebral hemispheres. It is formed mainly by orbital parts of the FRONTAL BONE and the lesser wings of the SPHENOID BONE.
The infratentorial compartment that contains the CEREBELLUM and BRAIN STEM. It is formed by the posterior third of the superior surface of the body of the sphenoid (SPHENOID BONE), by the occipital, the petrous, and mastoid portions of the TEMPORAL BONE, and the posterior inferior angle of the PARIETAL BONE.
The inferior region of the skull consisting of an internal (cerebral), and an external (basilar) surface.
Intracranial or spinal cavities containing a cerebrospinal-like fluid, the wall of which is composed of arachnoidal cells. They are most often developmental or related to trauma. Intracranial arachnoid cysts usually occur adjacent to arachnoidal cistern and may present with HYDROCEPHALUS; HEADACHE; SEIZURES; and focal neurologic signs. (From Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1994, Ch44, pp105-115)
Surgery performed on the external, middle, or internal ear.
Benign and malignant neoplasms that arise from one or more of the twelve cranial nerves.
Diseases of the trigeminal nerve or its nuclei, which are located in the pons and medulla. The nerve is composed of three divisions: ophthalmic, maxillary, and mandibular, which provide sensory innervation to structures of the face, sinuses, and portions of the cranial vault. The mandibular nerve also innervates muscles of mastication. Clinical features include loss of facial and intra-oral sensation and weakness of jaw closure. Common conditions affecting the nerve include brain stem ischemia, INFRATENTORIAL NEOPLASMS, and TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA.
Any operation on the cranium or incision into the cranium. (Dorland, 28th ed)
Either of a pair of compound bones forming the lateral (left and right) surfaces and base of the skull which contains the organs of hearing. It is a large bone formed by the fusion of parts: the squamous (the flattened anterior-superior part), the tympanic (the curved anterior-inferior part), the mastoid (the irregular posterior portion), and the petrous (the part at the base of the skull).
Neoplasms of the base of the skull specifically, differentiated from neoplasms of unspecified sites or bones of the skull (SKULL NEOPLASMS).
Diseases of the facial nerve or nuclei. Pontine disorders may affect the facial nuclei or nerve fascicle. The nerve may be involved intracranially, along its course through the petrous portion of the temporal bone, or along its extracranial course. Clinical manifestations include facial muscle weakness, loss of taste from the anterior tongue, hyperacusis, and decreased lacrimation.
The space and structures directly internal to the TYMPANIC MEMBRANE and external to the inner ear (LABYRINTH). Its major components include the AUDITORY OSSICLES and the EUSTACHIAN TUBE that connects the cavity of middle ear (tympanic cavity) to the upper part of the throat.
Junction between the cerebellum and the pons.
The outermost of the three MENINGES, a fibrous membrane of connective tissue that covers the brain and the spinal cord.
Pathological processes of the ear, the hearing, and the equilibrium system of the body.
Congenital, inherited, or acquired abnormalities involving ARTERIES; VEINS; or venous sinuses in the BRAIN; SPINAL CORD; and MENINGES.
A group of congenital malformations involving the brainstem, cerebellum, upper spinal cord, and surrounding bony structures. Type II is the most common, and features compression of the medulla and cerebellar tonsils into the upper cervical spinal canal and an associated MENINGOMYELOCELE. Type I features similar, but less severe malformations and is without an associated meningomyelocele. Type III has the features of type II with an additional herniation of the entire cerebellum through the bony defect involving the foramen magnum, forming an ENCEPHALOCELE. Type IV is a form a cerebellar hypoplasia. Clinical manifestations of types I-III include TORTICOLLIS; opisthotonus; HEADACHE; VERTIGO; VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS; APNEA; NYSTAGMUS, CONGENITAL; swallowing difficulties; and ATAXIA. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p261; Davis, Textbook of Neuropathology, 2nd ed, pp236-46)
A light and spongy (pneumatized) bone that lies between the orbital part of FRONTAL BONE and the anterior of SPHENOID BONE. Ethmoid bone separates the ORBIT from the ETHMOID SINUS. It consists of a horizontal plate, a perpendicular plate, and two lateral labyrinths.
A benign tumor composed of bone tissue or a hard tumor of bonelike structure developing on a bone (homoplastic osteoma) or on other structures (heteroplastic osteoma). (From Dorland, 27th ed)
The numerous (6-12) small thin-walled spaces or air cells in the ETHMOID BONE located between the eyes. These air cells form an ethmoidal labyrinth.
An irregular unpaired bone situated at the SKULL BASE and wedged between the frontal, temporal, and occipital bones (FRONTAL BONE; TEMPORAL BONE; OCCIPITAL BONE). Sphenoid bone consists of a median body and three pairs of processes resembling a bat with spread wings. The body is hollowed out in its inferior to form two large cavities (SPHENOID SINUS).
The posterior part of the temporal bone. It is a projection of the petrous bone.
The dense rock-like part of temporal bone that contains the INNER EAR. Petrous bone is located at the base of the skull. Sometimes it is combined with the MASTOID PROCESS and called petromastoid part of temporal bone.
Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image.
A retention cyst of the salivary gland, lacrimal sac, paranasal sinuses, appendix, or gallbladder. (Stedman, 26th ed)
A neoplasm that arises from SCHWANN CELLS of the cranial, peripheral, and autonomic nerves. Clinically, these tumors may present as a cranial neuropathy, abdominal or soft tissue mass, intracranial lesion, or with spinal cord compression. Histologically, these tumors are encapsulated, highly vascular, and composed of a homogenous pattern of biphasic fusiform-shaped cells that may have a palisaded appearance. (From DeVita Jr et al., Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, 5th ed, pp964-5)
Accumulation of blood in the SUBDURAL SPACE between the DURA MATER and the arachnoidal layer of the MENINGES. This condition primarily occurs over the surface of a CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE, but may develop in the spinal canal (HEMATOMA, SUBDURAL, SPINAL). Subdural hematoma can be classified as the acute or the chronic form, with immediate or delayed symptom onset, respectively. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness, severe HEADACHE, and deteriorating mental status.
Veins draining the cerebrum.
Either of a pair of bones that form the prominent part of the CHEEK and contribute to the ORBIT on each side of the SKULL.
Intracranial tumors originating in the region of the brain inferior to the tentorium cerebelli, which contains the cerebellum, fourth ventricle, cerebellopontine angle, brain stem, and related structures. Primary tumors of this region are more frequent in children, and may present with ATAXIA; CRANIAL NERVE DISEASES; vomiting; HEADACHE; HYDROCEPHALUS; or other signs of neurologic dysfunction. Relatively frequent histologic subtypes include TERATOMA; MEDULLOBLASTOMA; GLIOBLASTOMA; ASTROCYTOMA; EPENDYMOMA; CRANIOPHARYNGIOMA; and choroid plexus papilloma (PAPILLOMA, CHOROID PLEXUS).
Rare, benign, chronic, progressive metaplasia in which cartilage is formed in the synovial membranes of joints, tendon sheaths, or bursae. Some of the metaplastic foci can become detached producing loose bodies. When the loose bodies undergo secondary calcification, the condition is called synovial osteochondromatosis.
Accumulation of blood in the SUBDURAL SPACE over the CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE.
Part of the back and base of the CRANIUM that encloses the FORAMEN MAGNUM.
Leakage and accumulation of CEREBROSPINAL FLUID in the subdural space which may be associated with an infectious process; CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA; BRAIN NEOPLASMS; INTRACRANIAL HYPOTENSION; and other conditions.
Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques.
A delicate membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord. It lies between the PIA MATER and the DURA MATER. It is separated from the pia mater by the subarachnoid cavity which is filled with CEREBROSPINAL FLUID.
One of the paired, but seldom symmetrical, air spaces located between the inner and outer compact layers of the FRONTAL BONE in the forehead.
Neoplasms of the bony part of the skull.
Severe or complete loss of facial muscle motor function. This condition may result from central or peripheral lesions. Damage to CNS motor pathways from the cerebral cortex to the facial nuclei in the pons leads to facial weakness that generally spares the forehead muscles. FACIAL NERVE DISEASES generally results in generalized hemifacial weakness. NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION DISEASES and MUSCULAR DISEASES may also cause facial paralysis or paresis.
Benign and malignant neoplastic processes that arise from or secondarily involve the meningeal coverings of the brain and spinal cord.
Tumors or cancer of the PARANASAL SINUSES.
Accumulation of blood in the EPIDURAL SPACE between the SKULL and the DURA MATER, often as a result of bleeding from the MENINGEAL ARTERIES associated with a temporal or parietal bone fracture. Epidural hematoma tends to expand rapidly, compressing the dura and underlying brain. Clinical features may include HEADACHE; VOMITING; HEMIPARESIS; and impaired mental function.
One of the paired air spaces located in the body of the SPHENOID BONE behind the ETHMOID BONE in the middle of the skull. Sphenoid sinus communicates with the posterosuperior part of NASAL CAVITY on the same side.
A small space in the skull between the MAXILLA and the SPHENOID BONE, medial to the pterygomaxillary fissure, and connecting to the NASAL CAVITY via the sphenopalatine foramen.
Surgery performed on the nervous system or its parts.
An abnormal direct communication between an artery and a vein without passing through the CAPILLARIES. An A-V fistula usually leads to the formation of a dilated sac-like connection, arteriovenous aneurysm. The locations and size of the shunts determine the degree of effects on the cardiovascular functions such as BLOOD PRESSURE and HEART RATE.
Diseases of the bony orbit and contents except the eyeball.
The SKELETON of the HEAD including the FACIAL BONES and the bones enclosing the BRAIN.
An irregularly shaped venous space in the dura mater at either side of the sphenoid bone.
Neoplasms of the bony orbit and contents except the eyeball.
Radiography of the vascular system of the brain after injection of a contrast medium.
The largest of the cerebral arteries. It trifurcates into temporal, frontal, and parietal branches supplying blood to most of the parenchyma of these lobes in the CEREBRAL CORTEX. These are the areas involved in motor, sensory, and speech activities.
The process of generating three-dimensional images by electronic, photographic, or other methods. For example, three-dimensional images can be generated by assembling multiple tomographic images with the aid of a computer, while photographic 3-D images (HOLOGRAPHY) can be made by exposing film to the interference pattern created when two laser light sources shine on an object.
NECROSIS occurring in the MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY distribution system which brings blood to the entire lateral aspects of each CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE. Clinical signs include impaired cognition; APHASIA; AGRAPHIA; weak and numbness in the face and arms, contralaterally or bilaterally depending on the infarction.
A congenital abnormality of the central nervous system marked by failure of the midline structures of the cerebellum to develop, dilation of the fourth ventricle, and upward displacement of the transverse sinuses, tentorium, and torcula. Clinical features include occipital bossing, progressive head enlargement, bulging of anterior fontanelle, papilledema, ataxia, gait disturbances, nystagmus, and intellectual compromise. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, pp294-5)
Primary or metastatic neoplasms of the CEREBELLUM. Tumors in this location frequently present with ATAXIA or signs of INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION due to obstruction of the fourth ventricle. Common primary cerebellar tumors include fibrillary ASTROCYTOMA and cerebellar HEMANGIOBLASTOMA. The cerebellum is a relatively common site for tumor metastases from the lung, breast, and other distant organs. (From Okazaki & Scheithauer, Atlas of Neuropathology, 1988, p86 and p141)
Diseases that affect the structure or function of the cerebellum. Cardinal manifestations of cerebellar dysfunction include dysmetria, GAIT ATAXIA, and MUSCLE HYPOTONIA.
Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.