Indian Journal of Radiology and Imaging (Jul 2024)

Giant Intracranial Cavernous Malformations: A Review on Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characteristics

  • Mustafa Kemal Demir,
  • Deniz Kılıc,
  • Emre Zorlu,
  • Turker Kılıc

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0044-1779587
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 34, no. 03
pp. 511 – 521

Abstract

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Background Intracranial cavernous malformations (CMs), commonly known as cavernomas or cavernous angiomas, are low-flow, well-circumscribed vascular lesions composed of sinusoidal spaces lined by a single layer of endothelium and separated by a collagenous matrix without elastin, smooth muscle, or other vascular wall elements. A diameter greater than 3 cm for a CM is unlikely. These lesions may have atypical appearances on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI with advanced techniques such as a susceptibility-weighted image or T2-gradient echo, a diffusion-weighted image and corresponding apparent diffusion coefficient map, and diffusion tensor tractography have revolutionized the diagnostic approach to these lesions.

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