A study on anatomy of oculomotor nerve and its related arteies with MRI and sectional plastination / 中华放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To obtain the normal image and sectional anatomical data of the oculomotor nerve and its related arteries with MRI and plastination. Methods The optimal angles and the length of intracisternal segment of the oculomotor nerve were measured on multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images. Meanwhile, the relationship between the nerve and the basilar artery(BA), posterior cerebral artery(PCA), superior cerebellar artery(SCA) and posterior communicating artery(PCoA) were observed from the plastination slices, the original images, MPR and maximum intensity projections (MIP) images. Results MRI revealed the similar result corresponding to the plastination section in displaying the oculomotor nerve and its related arteries. The length of the intracisternal segment of the nerve was (14 4?2 15) mm and it formed an angle of (69.68?7.15)?with the posterior plane of the brain stem. The angle between the oculomotor nerve and the median sagittal plane was (24 44?4 64)?on the left and (24.44?5.06)?on the right. Shift of the BA was more likely found in aged individuals. Most of the PCA and SCA were close to the nerve,and a few of them compressed it, as for the PCoA, only the embryonic type was close to or compressed the nerve. Conclusion MRI is an accurate imaging technique for determination of the syntopy of the oculomotor nerve to its related arteries.