ABSTRACT
This study presents a computer-based tool for three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the optic pathway and oculomotor system using 3D high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets from a healthy subject. The 3D models were built as wireframe grids co-registered with MRI sections. First, 3D anatomical models were generated of the visual pathway from the eyeball to the primary visual cortex and of the cranial oculomotor nerves from the brain stem to the extrinsic eye muscles. Second, a graphical user interface allowed individual and group visualization, translation, rotation and zooming of the 3D models in different spatial positions simultaneously with MRI orthogonal cut planes. Educational and clinical applications are also discussed.
Subject(s)
Brain Stem/anatomy & histology , Diffusion Tensor Imaging/methods , Models, Anatomic , Models, Neurological , Oculomotor Muscles/innervation , Visual Cortex/anatomy & histology , Visual Pathways/anatomy & histology , Adult , Computer Simulation , Female , Humans , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods , Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods , Pattern Recognition, Automated/methods , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
Conventional textbooks on anatomy emphasize the consistency in the pathway of the cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) from the carotid bifurcation to the skull base. Deviations in its route as result of developmental and acquired conditions have received little attention in the literature. A case of a tortuous cervical ICA presenting as pharyngeal pulsatile swelling is presented. The differential diagnosis includes an enlarged ascending pharyngeal artery, aneurysm of the cervical ICA, and displacement of the cervical ICA by a tumour. Its presence warrants radiological assessment to establish a diagnosis and modify any planned surgery. Inadvertent injury or ligation of a tortuous cervical ICA can result in serious if not fatal complications. Clinical, radiological and cadaver studies on the tortuosity of the cervical ICA are reviewed.
Subject(s)
Carotid Artery Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Oropharynx/blood supply , Oropharynx/surgery , Pharyngeal Diseases/diagnosis , Adult , Carotid Artery Diseases/surgery , Diagnosis, Differential , Humans , Male , Pain/diagnosis , Pain/etiology , Pain Measurement , Pharyngeal Diseases/complications , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Los libros clásicos de anatomía insisten en la invariabilidad de la trayectoria de la arteria carótida interna (ACI) desde la bifurcación hasta la base del cráneo. Existen pocos trabajos en la literatura referentes a las desviaciones de esta trayectoria ya sea secundarias a trastornos en su desarrollo, o bien a trastornos adquiridos. Presentamos el caso de una ACI cervical que se manifestó clínicamente como una masa pulsátil faríngea. El diagnóstico diferencial incluye dilatación de la arteria faríngea ascendente, aneurisma de la ACI cervical y desplazamiento de la ACI por un tumor. Su presencia obliga a un estudio radiológico cuidadoso para intentar establecer el diagnóstico y planificar la cirugía. Una ligadura inadvertida o una lesión a una ACI tortuosa puede dar lugar a complicaciones serias e incluso fallecimiento. Revisamos los estudios clínicos, radiológicos y en cadáveres de las variantes de la ACI cervical (AU)
