title: Cranial Nerve Disorders in Children: MR Imaging Findings.
abstract: Cranial nerve disorders are uncommon disease conditions encountered in pediatric patients, and can be categorized as congenital, inflammatory, traumatic, or tumorous conditions that involve the cranial nerve itself or propagation of the disorder from adjacent organs. However, determination of the normal course, as well as abnormalities, of cranial nerves in pediatric patients is challenging because of the small caliber of the cranial nerve, as well as the small intracranial and skull base structures. With the help of recently developed magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques that provide higher spatial resolution and fast imaging techniques including three-dimensional MR images with or without the use of gadolinium contrast agent, radiologists can more easily diagnose disease conditions that involve the small cranial nerves, such as the oculomotor, abducens, facial, and hypoglossal nerves, as well as normal radiologic anatomy, even in very young children. If cranial nerve involvement is suspected, careful evaluation of the cranial nerves should include specific MR imaging protocols. Localization is an important consideration in cranial nerve imaging, and should cover entire pathways and target organs as much as possible. Therefore, radiologists should be familiar not only with the various diseases that cause cranial nerve dysfunction, and the entire course of each cranial nerve including the intra-axial nuclei and fibers, but also the technical considerations for optimal imaging of pediatric cranial nerves. In this article, we briefly review normal cranial nerve anatomy and imaging findings of various pediatric cranial nerve dysfunctions, as well as the technical considerations of pediatric cranial nerve imaging. Online supplemental material is available for this article. (©)RSNA, 2016.
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Mang
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ah Young
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7427-6240
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Ah
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Seong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: From the the Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chong Hyun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yoon
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003287:Contrast Media; D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media