Absence of the septum pellucidum: a useful sign in the diagnosis of congenital brain malformations.
In a review of more than 2000 MR images of the brain we identified 35 patients with absence of the septum pellucidum. These patients were divided into seven basic groups as follows: septooptic dysplasia; schizencephaly; holoprosencephaly; agenesis of the corpus callosum; chronic, severe hydrocephalus; basilar encephaloceles; and porencephaly/hydranencephaly. Absence of the septum pellucidum was never seen as an isolated finding. By using data gathered from the review of the MR scans of patients in this study, we devised a diagnostic algorithm to aid in the classification of these patients. Absence of the septum pellucidum can provide a valuable clue to the diagnosis of malformations of the brain.
Department of Radiology, Letterman Army Medical Center, Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129-6700.
A J
AJ
Barkovich
D
D
Norman
D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000175:diagnosis*; D061085:Agenesis of Corpus Callosum; D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000002:abnormalities*