Radiology, Vol 182, 49-52, Copyright © 1992 by Radiological Society of North America
Traumatic lesions of the suprasellar region: MR imaging
AS Mark, SH Phister, DE Jackson Jr and MP Kolsky
Department of Radiology, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010.
The authors studied nine patients with injuries to the suprasellar region
with 1.5-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Five patients had chiasmal
injuries diagnosed by means of clinical examination. MR imaging
demonstrated complete transection in two of these five patients, contusion
of the chiasm by inferior herniation of the gyrus rectus in one, and a
normal chiasm in two. Two patients had large tears of the floor of the
third ventricle resulting in wide communication between the third ventricle
and the prepontine cistern. One of these patients also had an avulsed third
nerve. Transection of the pituitary stalk was seen in two patients. MR
imaging can demonstrate injuries to the suprasellar structures. The MR
imaging appearance of optic chiasm correlates with different types of
injury to the chiasm described in the clinical literature and may alleviate
the need for additional diagnostic studies to help explain the patient's
symptoms.
