Neurovascular relationships in the posterior cranial fossa, with special reference to trigeminal neuralgia. 1. Review of the literature and development of a new method of vascular injection-filling in cadaveric controls.
Vascular compression of cranial nerves adjacent to the brain stem has been implicated in a wide variety of disorders affecting their function. The considerable conflicts in published results relate primarily to flaws in study design. The design required of an adequate study is defined and a technique is presented, in 16 fresh human cadavers, of reliable and physiological injection-filling of both the cerebral arterial and venous systems. It allowed for the accurate observation of the normal neurovascular relationships in the posterior cranial fossa during operative simulation. Part 2 of this article concerns the use of this design in the study of trigeminal neuralgia, a disorder thought to relate to vascular compression of the fifth cranial nerve.
Hamlyn
P J
PJ
Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Hospital NHS Trust, London, U.K.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D002102:Cadaver; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000098:blood supply; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000098:blood supply / Q000294:innervation; D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005404:Fixatives; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000209:etiology*; D010477:Perfusion / Q000379:methods; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000473:pathology*; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*
D005404:Fixatives