Hydrocephalus
Symptomatic hydrocephalus is subdivided into obstructive and nonobstructive etiologies. Obstructive hydrocephalus is due to blockage of CSF flow by a congenital malformation, such as aqueductal stenosis or suprasellar arachnoid cyst,…
Mature Brain Ventricles
In the adult brain, the two mature cerebral hemispheres surround the lateral ventricles. These two ventricles, the largest of the ventricular chambers, have three extensions into distinct regions of the…
The External Development of the Brain in the Second and Third Trimesters
The central sulcus defines two essential functional regions. On the anterior bank is the precentral gyrus, the location of the primary motor cortex. Neurons of the primary motor cortex send…
Extracranial Hemorrhage and Skull Fractures in the Newborn
Caput succedaneum, an edematous swelling that may be hemorrhagic, is seen in vaginal deliveries. It may transilluminate, is soft, pits, is usually at the vertex over suture lines, and resolves…
Intracranial Hemorrhage in the Newborn
Periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) originates in the germinal matrix near the lateral ventricles and typically is observed in infants born preterm before 34 weeks’ gestation (Plate 1-12). In preterm infants, the…
Craniosynostosis
Nonsyndromic craniosynostosis occurs much more frequently than syndromic. The most common premature closure occurs in the sagittal suture, which leads to scaphocephaly, dolichocephaly, or elongated head. The next most common…
Fetal Brain Growth in the First Trimester
At 49 days of age (see top, Plate 1-9), the brain and spinal cord undergo further bending that situates both appropriately in the developing head and trunk. The cephalic flexure…
Spinal Dysraphism
Cutaneous stigmata of spina bifida occulta include dimples, dermal sinuses, subcutaneous lipomas, tufts of hair, or hemangiomas. Cutaneous lesions may occur in isolation, or herald an underlying tethered cord due…
Spinal Dysraphism (Continued)
A far more devastating variant of spina bifida aperta is myelomeningocele, in which the spinal cord or nerve roots, or both, protrude through the posterior bony and cutaneous defects due…
Defective Neural Tube Formation (Continued)
Several other clinical conditions characterized by congenital failure of fusion of the midline structures of the spinal column are grouped under the general classification of spinal dysraphism. These various manifestations…
