A tumoral mass at the clivus is uncommon and its differential diagnosis presents a challenge, since many different tumours may result in a similar radiological image. A chordoma is the most common of these tumours and represents 40% of all cases. Less common, in decreasing order of frequency, are meningiomas, astrocytoma, germinal cell tumours, lymphoma, metastases and, finally, pituitary adeno...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We analyzed the angiographic architecture of intraosseous dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) and evaluated the use of transvenous embolization for curative treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study population consisted of 6 patients with intraosseous DAVFs from 3 hospitals. In all of these patients, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records and images, and we w...

We report a rare case of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) presenting with hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis (HCP), abducens nerve palsy, and stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA). A 59-year-old Japanese man presented with a year history of nasal obstruction and a 2-month history of slight headache. Histopathological examination of the granulomatous mucosa in the ethmoid sinuses...

AIM We aimed to show the significance of the anterior pontine membrane as a determining structure between the subdural and subarachnoid space in the clival region. MATERIAL AND METHODS Five adult cadaver heads and five cerebral hemispheres were used. The skull vault and hemipheres were removed by sectioning through the pontomesencephalic junction. Five other heads hemispheres were removed but...

The endoscopic endonasal transclival approach has been widely described for its use to resect clivus chordomas, but there have only been isolated reports of its use for petroclival meningiomas. These tumors are most often resected utilizing open transpetrosal approaches, but these operations, difficult even in the hands of dedicated skull base surgeons, are particularly challenging if the menin...

Background and Importance Plasmacytomas are monoclonal proliferations of plasma cells that may arise within soft tissue or bone. The skull base is a rare site for plasmacytomas to occur, and few cases have been reported in the literature. When present in the skull base, plasmacytomas may result in cranial neuropathies and often progress to multiple myeloma more rapidly than other intracranial o...