Evaluation of Patients with Cranial Nerve Disorders

Abstract

AbstractNeurologists, neurosurgeons, ENT and maxillofacial surgeons, ophthalmologists, and others often detect cranial nerve deficits in their patients but remain uncertain about the underlying cause. It is the radiologist’s task to identify the causative disease, including inflammatory, infectious, vascular, traumatic, tumoral, and neurodegenerative etiologies. To detect this pathology, the neuroradiologist or head and neck radiologist must have a detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the 12 cranial nerves and available MR techniques. Furthermore, selecting the optimal sequences significantly depends on access to the patient’s history, clinical and biological data. In this chapter, emphasis will be put on employing the certain imaging techniques best suited to detect pathologies on the different parts/segments of the cranial nerves: intraaxial, extraaxial intracranial, skull base, and extracranial.