Multislice CT Study of the Craniovertebral Osseous Anomalies

Multislice CT Study of the Craniovertebral Osseous Anomalies

Modern radiologic technologies, including the multislice CT (MSCT) machines, enable a reliable and precise examination of the patients and volunteers. Our aim was to use the mentioned method in order to reveal the potential craniovertebral malformations in a patient with a duplication of the pituitary gland and in a control group of 11 healthy volunteers. The MSCT examination was performed in all of them, including certain linear measurements and 3D reconstruction. The patient presented with a double hypophyseal fossa, the posterior clinoid process, the odontoid process and the axis body, as well as with a broad clivus, the third occipital condyle, a foramen transversarium defect, a partial agenesis of the anterior and posterior atlas arches, and a fusion of the cervical vertebrae. In one volunteer, an unclosed foramen transversarium was noticed, and in another one an isolated agenesis of the posterior atlantal arch. Whereas some of the obtained anomalies are usually an incidental finding in the general population, some others may produce certain symptoms and signs and therefore require a surgical intervention. Hence the data obtained in our study can have important clinical implications.