Radiology, Vol 155, 639-643, Copyright © 1985 by Radiological Society of North America
Cerebral venous angiomas imaged by MR
C Cammarata, JS Han, JR Haaga, RJ Alfidi and B Kaufman
The diagnostic efficacy of magnetic resonance (MR) in the evaluation of
cerebral venous angioma was studied. The results of MR and computed
tomography (CT) were compared in six cerebral venous angiomas in five
patients. MR alone was diagnostically successful in only three of six
cases. Venous angiomas appeared as tubular structures of extremely low
signal intensity on MR images. Although CT was highly sensitive (100%) in
detecting lesions, CT was diagnostically specific in only four of the six
cases. Angiography was the only modality able to unquestionably detect all
six lesions. By varying the MR pulse sequence, we greatly affected the
ability of MR to demonstrate lesions. In the cases where MR helped define
the abnormality, T2-weighted MR images were able to clearly demonstrate
lesions in five of the six cases whereas T1- weighted images helped detect
an abnormality in only two cases. Although MR shows great promise in the
evaluation of central nervous system abnormalities, CT remains the best
imaging modality for detecting venous angiomas. When CT is not conclusive,
angiography can be performed for a definitive diagnosis.
