It is very rare that a foramen magnum arachnoid cyst induces compression of the spinal cord and syringomyelia, and currently there are few treatment experiences available. Here we reported the case of a 43-year-old male patient who admitted to the hospital due to weakness and numbness of all 4 limbs, with difficulty in urination and bowel movement. MRI revealed a foramen magnum arachnoid cyst w...

Arnold-Chiari malformations (ACM) represent a constellation of related congenital anomalies at the base of the brain. ACM is a very rare disorder with displacement of the cerebellar tonsils caudally into the foramen magnum. To date, the cause of this malformation is unknown, however, there is some evidence for a defect of the paraxial mesoderm resulting in a shallow posterior cranial fossa and ...

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is classified as a decrease in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure secondary to a CSF leakage and consequent descent of the brain into the foramen magnum. Diagnosing SIH can be difficult due to its overlapping findings with Arnold-Chiari type 1 Malformation (CM1) where the cerebellar tonsils herniate into the foramen magnum. The similarity of both condi...

Although foramen magnum meningiomas are usually removable, their location poses considerable surgical risk. The authors present three cases of foramen magnum meningioma. The first involved a ventral type tumor extending to the second cervical body. Following bilateral mandibulotomy, surgery was performed via the anterior transoral approach and the tumor was totally removed. Nine days postoperat...

Clival screw and plate fixation technique is an alternative or supplement to the occipitocervical instrumentation. However, no report has clarified the applied anatomy of clivus in patients with atlas assimilation (C1A), especially for clival screw fixation. Therefore, we measured the parameters of clival lengths, widths, putative screw lengths, clival-cervical angel and foramen magnum diameter...

The anteroposterior position of the foramen magnum distinguishes living Homo sapiens from apes, and has been used as evidence for the hominid status of numerable fossils in the history of human paleontology. During the past decade, foramen magnum position has been cited as evidence of the hominid status of Ardipithecus and Sahelanthropus. Specifically, the basion of Ardpithecus is reported to b...

Downward displacement of cerebellar tonsils more than 5 mm below the foramen magnum is named as Chiari type I malformation and named benign tonsillar ectopia if herniation is less than 3 mm. It does not just depend on congenital causes. There are also some reasons for acquired Chiari Type 1 and benign tonsillar ectopia/herniation. Trauma is one of them. Trauma may increase tonsillar ectopia or ...

Metrizamide-enhanced computed tomographic (CT) myelography has made it easier to define the relation of the spinal cord to the vertebral canal. A flexion-extension metrizamide-enhanced CT technique has been developed to study the craniocervical junction that refines evaluation of the relation between the spinal cord and the foramen magnum, atlas, and axis. This technique was used to study 15 ad...

Received: November 24, 2013 Accepted: December 30, 2013 Published: January 06, 2014 to the base of the axis. The artery transitions posterior to enter the foramen transversarium in the posterolateral part of the ring of the atlas. It continues posterior through the atlantoaxial membrane to enter the foramen magnum where it combines with the contralateral VA to form the basilar artery providing ...

n CSF flow dynamics at the level of foramen magnum have been he final pathway related to the development of syringomyelia 5]. Syingomyelia in association with posterior fossa cyst has been scribed to the obstruction at the level of foramen of magnum ither due to the cyst per se or due to the secondary herniation f the cerebellar tonsils [5,6]. Decompression of the cyst with elieving of pressure...