As another cause for a symptomatic carpal tunnel syndrome the persistence of the median artery is postulated. This was observed by the authors in three cases all of whom presented a typical carpal tunnel syndrome. As the only cause in all three cases a persistent median artery was observed. The embryological facts and the possible pathogenetic causes discussed.

The CT patterns of 295 glioblastomas examined with pre- and postcontrast scans using an EMI scanner Mark I (Matrix 160/160) have been reviewed and compared with the CT appearances of other brain tumors, metastases and abscesses. There is a great variety of CT patterns with glioblastomas. However, a garland-shaped CT appearance, representing a subgroup of ring-shaped lesions, seems to be most typical for glioblastomas since it was observed in 19% of ring-shaped glioblastomas but in only one out of 172 metastases and in no case of an astrocytoma grade II or an abscess in our series. The initial CT diagnosis, based on the CT finding, the patient's history and the clinical data, was correct in 69.8% of the glioblastomas, 41 recurrent glioblastomas included. In 12% of the cases the presence of a glioblastoma was within differential diagnosis. These results lead to the conclusion that in many cases additional diagnostic methods, such as serial scintigraphy and/or cerebral angiography, are required for a reliable differential diagnosis.

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Among 2,600 patients, examined by computerized tomography, 404 had brain tumours, which were gliomas in 150 cases. There were 73 glioblastomas. Examination was performed according to Ambrose's method using an intravenous injection of 1 ml 60% contrast medium per kg body weight. Thus 98% of all gliomas could be demonstrated. Glioblastomas are shown in three different forms: an annular type (55%), a nodular type (18%), and a combined type (27%). Perifocal oedema is found in 88% of glioblastomas. The oedema most frequently belongs to grade II or III. Differentialdiagnosis of gliomas, abscess, metastases and other tumours with central necrosis are discussed.

CT findings of 46 patients with operatively confirmed chronic subdural hematomas are reviewed. The analysis of the EMI scans resulted in three different types of CT findings. Type 1 is characterized by decreased attenuation of the hematoma contents compared to brain tissue. The hematoma is visualized as a lens-shaped low density area between the skull and the surface of the brain. Type 2 apart from low density areas contains zones of increased attenuation due to recent bleeding into a watery chronic subdural hematoma. In many cases sedimentation causes a well-defined horizontal borderline between the thin fluid parts in the anterior portion and the blood debris in the posterior portion of the hematoma sac. Type 3 shows the same average absorption values as normal brain tissue, a direct visualization is not possible. However , the presence of a midline displacement in combination with ventricular compression and absence of a circumscript lesion even after contrast enhancement, allows the diagnosis of a unilateral chronic subdural hematoma in these cases too. Bilateral chronic subdural hematomas may cause considerable diagnostic difficulties if only one or none of the hematomas is visualized. A relatively small midline displacement points to a second bleeding on the opposite side. Most frequent were hematomas of type 1 (37%), type 2 and 3 could be observed in 30,5% resp. 32,5% of cases respectively.