title: Assessment of posterior fossa tumors in infants and children by means of computed tomography.
abstract: The attenuation profiles before and after contrast enhancement were examined in 18 infants and children with posterior fossa tumors: eight cerebellar astrocytomas, six medulloblastomas, and four brainstem tumors. The astrocytomas, with one exception, had characteristic patterns, and all could be distinguished from the medulloblastomas, which have a distinct pattern of their own. The brainstem tumors had varying appearances, and were entirely low-attenuating, high-attenuating or had a ring shadow after enhancement. The nature of a posterior fossa tumor in a pediatric patient can usually be predicted fairly satisfactorily from a computed tomogram.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001933:Brain Stem; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed