MR of uncommon congenital and vascular lesions of the intracranial visual pathways

Abstract

The MR findings of two patients with rare congenital abnormalities of the optic pathways are reported and illustrated, including one case of unilateral aplasia of the optic chiasm, tract, and visual radiations and another patient with anophthalmos. In three other patients with unusual vascular causes of visual disturbance, MR was important in early establishment of an accurate diagnosis and had consequent implications for decisions regarding further patient management.

Optic nerve axons: life and death before birth

“…237 Achiasmic patients can have good, 238,239 and sometimes remarkably normal vision despite MRI-and fMRI-proven functional achiasmia. 240 In the case studied by Victor et al, 240 vernier acuity was normal, and there was no evidence for the confounding of visual information between the overlapping ipsi-lateral and contralateral representations.…”

Optic Nerve: Developmental Anomalies and Common Tumors

“…They are usually attributed to tumor, hemorrhage, aneurism, and CNS demyelinating disease, while some are associated with anophthalmos. Isolated optic tract aplasia/hypoplasia was reported in three cases, all of which are unilateral [65][66][67].…”