ABSTRACT
The advantages of three-dimensional (3-D) imaging in the diagnosis of developmental and posttraumatic craniofacial abnormalities is well established. A brief review of this role of 3-D imaging is presented, followed by a discussion of the use of 3-D imaging in various head and neck disorders.
Subject(s)
Head/diagnostic imaging , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Neck/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Facial Bones/abnormalities , Facial Bones/diagnostic imaging , Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Skull/diagnostic imaging , Skull Fractures/diagnostic imaging , Temporal Bone/diagnostic imaging , Temporomandibular Joint/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
The human temporal bone is an extremely complex structure. Direct axial and coronal CT sections are quite satisfactory for imaging the anatomy of the temporal bone; however, many relationships of the normal and pathologic anatomic detail of the temporal bone are better seen with direct sagittal CT sections. The sagittal projection is of interest to surgeons, as it has the advantage of following the plane of surgical approach. This article describes the advantages of using direct sagittal sections for studying various diseases of the temporal bone. The CT sections were obtained with the aid of a new head holder added to our GE CT 9800 scanner. The direct sagittal projection was found to be extremely useful for evaluating diseases involving the vertical segment of the facial nerve canal, vestibular aqueduct, tegmen tympani, sigmoid sinus plate, sinodural angle, carotid canal, jugular fossa, external auditory canal, middle ear cavity, infra- and supralabyrinthine air cells, and temporomandibular joint.
