CNS pathology Flashcards
MC cause and type of head injury
Falls
Deacceleration injury
What is raccoon eye and Battle sign? What do they indicate respectively?
Raccoon eye: periorbital ecchymosis ==> anterior cranial fossa fracture
Battle sign: retromastoid ecchymosis ==> petrous temopral bone fracture
Glasgow Coma Scale (associated mortality)
= assessment of impaired consciousness level in response to defined stimuli to determinen severity of head injury
Eye opening response (4): spontaneous –> to speech –> to pain –> none
Verbal response (5): orientated –> confused –> inappropriate words –> incomprehensible sounds –> none
Motor response (6): obey commands –> localization to pain –> normal flexion to pain –> abnormal flexion to pain –> extension to pain –> none
> =14: minor severity (0.4%)
9~13: moderate severity (5%)
<=8: severe severity (45%)
Types of skull fractures (4)
Linear fracture
Depressed fracture
Basilar fracture
Diastatic fracture
Types of brain parenchymal injury
Contusion (coup or countercoup)
Laceration
Diffuse axonal injury
Types of brain traumatic vascular injury (which is MC?) (What are the vessels involved?)
Epidural haematoma: middle meningeal artery
Subdural haematoma (MC): bridging vein between dura & arachnoid membrane
Cerebral / contusional haematoma: intracerebral vessels
Difference in CT between epidual and subdural haematoma
lens-shaped, limited by suture lines
crescent-shaped, cross suture lines
Involvement of which spinal level will lead to respiratory compromise in spinal injury?
C4 or above
2 types of cerebral oedema and pathogenesis
vasogenic oedema: malignancy / infection –> BBB diruption & ↑ vascular permeability
cytotoxic oedema: generalised hypoxia / ischaemic insult –> neuronal / glial cell injury –> cellular swelling
Cushing triad
sinus bradycardia, hypertension, irregular breathing
==> ↑ ICP
Signs of ↑ ICP
papilledema
headache, projectile vomiting without nausea
Cushing triad
4 types of herniation (herniated structure)
- Subfalcine (cingulate gyrus)
- Uncal (uncus)
- Central (bilateral uncus)
- Tonsilar (cerebellar tonsils)
Results of uncal herniation
[CN3] ipsilateral pupil dilation
[cerebral peduncle] hemiplegia
[midbrain] coma
Results of tonsillar herniation
[medulla] respiratory arrest, BP instability
[cerebellum] cerebellar signs
Brain tumours predominantly found in children (3)
pilocytic astrocytoma
ependymoma
medulloblastoma
Benign brain tumours (3)
pilocytic astrocytoma
meningioma
Schwannoma
What are the brain tumours?
Glioma
1. Glioblastoma multiforme
2. Diffuse astrocytoma
3. Pilocytic astrocytoma
4. Oligodendroglioma
5. Ependymoma
Extra-axial tumours
1. Meningioma
2. Schwannoma
3. Pituitary adenoma
Other primary tumours
1. Medulloblastoma
2. Primary CNS lymphoma
3. CNS germinoma
Metastasis
1. Cerebral
2. Leptomeningeal
MC brain tumour in adult (what is the origin)
Glioblastoma multiforme
(astrocytes)
Common site and the respective gross pathology of glioblastoma
Corpus callosum (butterfly lesion)
Pathology of glioblastoma multiforme (4)
necrosis, endothelial proliferation, markedly pleomorphic cells, contrast ring-enhancement in CT/MRI
Median survival of glioblastoma multiforme with treatment
15 months
MC spinal cord tumour
Ependymoma
Site of medulloblastoma
vermis of cerebellum
Common site of CNS germinoma
pineal gland
MC sources of brain metastasis (3)
lungs, breasts (long latent period), colorectal
Brain tumour with diffuse infiltration, fibrillary matrix, and thus incurable by surgery
Diffuse astrocytoma
Brain tumour with cystic lesion, with mural nodule and spindle cells
Pilocytic astrocytoma
Brain tumour with calcifications, clear vacuolated cells (fry egg cell), branching vessels
Oligodendroglioma
Brain tumour with whorls, psammoma, calcifications
Meningioma
Brain tumour with rosettes
Medulloblastoma
What is lacunar infarct?
small infarcts (<15mm) at deep grey / white matter of the brain
Causes of global ischaemia of the brain (Which area is the most vulnerable?)
circulatory collapse, severe hypoglycaemia, epilepsy
(Hippocampus)
Pathology of brain ischaemia
Gross: acute swelling +/- herniation –> liquefactive necrosis
Microscopy:
[early] red neurons, acute inflammation (neutrophils, oedema), shrinking & karyolysis of neurons
[late] microglial cells with haemosiderin, liquefaction, glial fibres
MC site and MC cause of cerebral haemorrhage
basal ganglia
hypertension
MC cause of lobar haemorrhage (which disease is it associated with?)
cerebral amyloid angiopathy
Alzheimer’s disease
Causes of Berry aneurysm
hypertension, connective tissue disease, structural defects