Anatomy and Imaging of the Cranial Nerves

Examines the radiological technique for visualizing vulnerable points of the cranial nerves. Each of the 12 chapters follows the course of one cranial nerve, tracing the intracranial passage from the apparent origin to the territory innervated.

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This work is of the greatest importance. It studies the course of each cranial nerve in three dimensions starting from their apparent origin, and their intracranial passage to the territory innervated, in 12 chapters - one per crani- al nerve using MRI and CT images and colored anatomic illu- strations. In the case of any given syndrome, it makes it possible to conduct an effective investigation and ensures that the interpretation of the images obtained is made with the least trouble and uncertainty. Scanography and MRI have become the preferred methods for investigation of the head, in that they conduct what amounts to an "in vivo" dissection which is particularly valuable in the study of the cranial nerves and their vulnerable points. However, the interpretation of the images obtained calls for a precise knowledge of the anatomy in order to profit from the possibilities currently available, the more so since multidimensional reconstructions cannot be obtained rapidly and there is hope for similar progress as regards gradients in multiple obliquities.
In this way it is possible to foll- ow the cranial nerves and their collaterals throughout their course from their cerebral origin to their peripheral terri- tory. Thus, this "new method" with its new imaging has arri- ved just when it was required. It constitutes a real working tool for the maxillofacial surgeon, the stomatologist, the otorhinalaryngologist, the radiologist, the ophthalmologist, the neurologist, the neurosurgeon, the anatomist, the specialist in physical medicine and the medical student.