Skull Abnormalities Associated with the Arnold Chiari Malformation

Abstract

Children with a spina bifida often present signs and symptoms of bladder dysfunction -neurogenic bladder. It is also known that meningo-myeloceles are frequently associated with the so-called Arnold-Chiari deformity of the hindbrain. It seemed of interest to investigate whether a radiologically demonstrable correlation between the spina bifida and possible skull abnormalities existed in these children.Material. In a period of 11 months, 93 patients with a neurogenic bladder were sent for routine urography, to which was added routine skull radiography. Thirteen of them with a history of tumor of or trauma to the spinal cord were excluded from the series (their skull films were normal). Eighty patients had a meningomyelocele; their ages ranged from 1 to 16 years (Fig. 1) and these are our concern in this study.Spinal defects, widening of the spinal canal and neural arch defects were constantly present, but to a variable degree and location (Fig. 2); 25 % had spinal dysraphism only in the sacral, or only in the lumbar area, while the majority had involvement of more than one segment of the spine. Diastema-9 by guest on July 24, 2015 acr.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Study of the Anatomic Metric Values of the Foramen Magnum and Its Relation to Sex

“…Ricard and Girard [1949] considered that an en largement of the transverse diameter is typical of this mal formation. Kruyff and Jeffs [1966] agreed with Ricard and Girard [ 1949] but referred to an enlargement of the sagittal diameter.…”

Foramen Magnum Ontogeny inHomo sapiens: A Functional Matrix Perspective

“…In contrast to the condition found in achondroplasia, the FM is enlarged in most individuals (71%–100%) with the Arnold‐Chiari malformation (Kruyff and Jeffs, 1966; Bliesener and Schmidt, 1980). Typically, the cerebellar tonsils protrude through the enlarged FM, and the condition is associated with hydrocephalus.…”

“…Relevant investigations in these groups have been conducted for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include (1) delineating its ontogeny in normal and abnormal recent Homo sapiens (Kollmann, 1905; Schwerz, 1908; Grossman and Zuckerman, 1955; Ford, 1956; Kruyff and Jeffs, 1966; Coin and Malkasian, 1971; Röthig, 1971; Schmeltzer et al, 1971; Zadvornov, 1972; Riolo et al, 1974; Marin‐Padilla and Marin‐Padilla, 1977; Bliesener and Schmidt, 1980; Dean, 1982; Hecht et al, 1985, 1989; Lang and Issing, 1989; Lang, 1991; Kjær and Kjær, 1993; Lee et al, 1996; Humphrey, 1998; Coqueugniot, 1999; Berge and Bergman, 2001; Brühl et al, 2001; Reynolds et al, 2001; Acer et al, 2006; Richards, 2007; Sherer et al, 2008; Furtado et al, 2010); (2) delineating the range of geographic, sexual, or temporally related size and shape variation in adult humans (Klaatsch, 1908; Hooton, 1920; Oetteking, 1923, 1928; Morant, 1927; Röthig, 1971; Lang et al, 1983; Catalina‐Herrera, 1987; Rude and Mertzlufft, 1987; Zaidi and Dayal, 1988; Sendemir et al, 1994; Coqueugniot, 1999; Galdames et al, 2009; Gruber et al, 2009; Manoel et al, 2009; Tubbs et al, 2010; Veroni et al, 2010); (3) delineating the ontogeny and range of size and shape variation in modern nonhuman primates (Lönnberg, 1917; Allen, 1925; Heintz, 1966; Michejda and Lamey, 1971; Fenart and Deblock, 1973; Cramer, 1977; Dean, 1982; Masters et al, 1991; Dean and Wood, 2003); (4) providing a basis for interspecific comparisons (Wanner, 1971; Fenart and Deblock, 1973; Dean, 1982; Masters et al, 1991; Schaefer, 1999; Ahern, 2006); and (5) investigating the relationship of FM orientation to habitual skull positioning and locomotion (Duckworth, 1904;...…”

Asymptomatic Chiari Type I malformations identified on magnetic resonance imaging

“…Although in cases of the CM II the foramen magnum is typically enlarged, 9,20 it is usually of normal size in cases of CMI 38 and, therefore, unlikely to play a significant role in symptomatic presentation. 44 Recognized exceptions are those instances in which osseous anomalies result in posterior displacement of the dens and/or atlantoaxial instability.…”