J Korean Med Sci.  2006 Oct;21(5):950-953. 10.3346/jkms.2006.21.5.950.

Cavernous Angioma in the Falx Cerebri: A Case Report

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. hongyk@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Intracranial cavernous angiomas are benign vascular malformations and can be divided into intra-axial and extra-axial lesions. Extra-axial cavernous angiomas are relatively rare and usually arise in relation to the dura mater and mimick meningiomas. We report a case of cavernous angioma that occured in the falx cerebri of a 22-yr-old female patient with the special focus on neuroradiologic findings. This is the fourth case of cavernous angioma in the falx cerebri reported in the literature to our knowledge.

Keyword

Hemangioma; Cavernous Angioma; Hemangioma, Carvenous, Central Nervous System; Falx Cerebri

MeSH Terms

Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Meningeal Neoplasms/pathology/*radiography/surgery
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Humans
Hemangioma, Cavernous/pathology/*radiography/surgery
Female
Dura Mater/*pathology
Adult

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Pre- (A) and post contrast (B) CT scans show a well-defined, lobulating, iso-attenuation mass in the right frontal region with dense and scattered calcifications in the central and peripheral regions, respectively. The mass shows no definite enhancement except for anterior falx enhancement following contrast media administration.

  • Fig. 2 Axial T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) (A) and coronal T1-weighted MR gadolinium-enhanced (B) images show an extra-axial, lobulating lesion abutting on the right side to the falx cerebri with heterogeneous enhancement with dural tail sign, CSF cleft, and cortical buckling. Multiple dot-like and linear signal voids are also seen in the mass.

  • Fig. 3 On cerebral angiography, the anterior portion of the bilateral anterior cerebral arteries are displaced to the left side. There are no definite abnormal capillary blush or malformed vessels on the right external cerebral artery or internal cerebral artery angiography.

  • Fig. 4 Low-power photomicrographs showing various thrombosis and calcifications within the cavernous vascular spaces. Also noted are thin-walled vascular channels with little intervening brain (H&E, ×100).


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