PURPOSE An activating point mutation of the BRAF oncogene has been identified in a high proportion of cutaneous nevi and cutaneous melanomas, but its frequency in melanomas arising from the mucosa of head and neck is unknown. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We tested 17 malignant mucosal melanomas of the head and neck for the thymine (T)-->adenine (A) missense mutation at nucleotide 1796 in the BRAF gene...

This report describes a case of middle meningeal artery aneurysm caused after cranial surgery. A 55-year-old woman who experienced a ruptured internal carotid artery anterior wall aneurysm was treated by internal carotid artery trapping and high-flow bypass using a radial artery graft. Eight days after surgery, we performed cerebral angiography to confirm patency of the radial artery graft and ...

Middle meningeal artery (MMA) pseudoaneurysms are very rare and are most often traumatic. They may present as an epidural or intraparenchymal hematoma. This study reports a rare case in which a patient suffered from intractable epistaxis because of a pseudoaneurysm in middle meningeal artery and skull base fracture after craniocerebra trauma. Pseudoaneurysm and the feeding artery were embolized...

This case of traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula was caused by rupture of a peculiar ipsilateral intracavernous anastomosis between the accessory meningeal artery and the redundant deep recurrent ophthalmic artery. In the opposite cavernous sinus there was an obvious anastomosis between the accessory meningeal artery and the ophthalmic artery, probably located in the lateral part of the caverno...

In the present study, we induced melanomas in C57BL/6 mice by a single application of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene to the scapular region of 4-day-old mice, followed by twice-weekly applications of croton oil. Of 20 mice treated, melanomas arose in two female littermates. The first melanoma (JB/MS) arose 16 weeks after initiation of treatment, and the second melanoma (JB/RH) arose 23 weeks la...

An extremely rare variation of the (left) middle meningeal artery (MMA) originating from the basilar artery, detected incidentally during cerebral angiography, is reported. The right MMA was normal and an accessory meningeal artery arising from the maxillary artery was present on both the sides. The foramen spinosum on the variant side was absent. This abnormal origin of the MMA can be explaine...

Melanocytomas are present in leptomeninges and arise from neural crest during early embryonic development. They are a rare entity and usually occur in the thoracic spine and infratentorial region. We report a 32-year-old female with meningeal melanocytoma of D9-10. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intramedullary spinal tumor at D9-D10. Intraoperatively, the tumor was greyish-black in colo...