PEDIATRICS Vol. 76 No. 1 July 1985, pp. 84-90
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Lesions of the Posterior Fossa and Upper Cervical Cord in Childhood

Roger J. Packer MD1, Robert A. Zimmerman MD1, Larissa T. Bilanuik MD1, Thomas G. Leurssen MD1, Leslie N. Sutton MD1, Derek A. Bruce MD1, and Luis Schut MD1

1 From the Divisions of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics, Neuroradiology, and Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) promises to be an effective, nonivasive means of visualizing intracranial pathology. It should be especially useful in the evaluation of posterior fossa and cervical spinal cord disease of childhood; computed tomographic (CT) evaluation is frequently suboptimal in this region. MRI results are reported for 46 consecutively seen children with posterior fossa and/or cervical spinal cord disease (28 had brain malignancies; seven had congenital anomalies; three had cerebrovascular accidents). MRI was performed primarily by the partial saturation on a .12 Tesla resistive proton unit. All patients underwent concurrent CT evaluation. demonstrated abnormalities in 96% of scans in patients with structural CNS disease (48 of 50). CNS malignancies were visualized in 100% (28 of 28) of children studied. MRI was especially useful in demonstrating the full extent of infiltrating gliomas and the anatomic location of other mass lesions. MRI frequently demonstrated disease to be more extensive than seen on CT. MRI was more sensitive than CT in documenting reponse to treatment and disease relapse in patients with infiltrating tumors. Cystic regions within tumors were poorly seen on MRI. Congenital anomalies were demonstrated in all patients evaluated and were better delineated using MRI than CT. MRI is sensitive in the evaluation of posterior fossa and cervical spinal cord disease of childhood and it has obvious advantages over CT; however, its specificity in such evaluations has yet to be proven.

Key Words: magnetic resonance imaging • syrinx • brain tumor • central nervous system abnormalities • Chiari malformation • nuclear magnetic resonance

Submitted on June 18, 1984
Accepted on August 7, 1984




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E. S. Roach, T. Smith, C. V. Terry, A. R. Riela, and D. W. Laster
Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pediatric Neurologic Disorders
J Child Neurol, April 1, 1987; 2(2): 111 - 116.
[Abstract] [PDF]