Bilateral congenital absence of the internal carotid arteries: a case report.

Congenital absence of the internal carotid artery is a rare occurrence. Even more infrequent are cases where the patient has a bilateral absence of the internal carotid arteries. Reported is a case of a 52-year-old woman who presented with optic nerve neuropathy, and was incidentally discovered to have a congenital bilateral absence of her internal carotid arteries. During computed tomography angiography imaging looking for cerebral venous thrombosis, related to her preexisting condition of bilateral elevated optic discs and residual left optic neuropathy, the findings were made. The absence of the arteries is not always recognizably symptomatic, with most findings being incidental through imaging studies only. This is because collateral flow allows for sufficient cerebral circulation. However, this condition puts such patients at higher risk for conditions such as aneurysms and subsequently strokes where the collateral flow exists.

Tongue base schwannoma: differential diagnosis and imaging features with a case presentation.

Schwannomas are slow growing, encapsulated neoplasms that arise from the nerve sheath. A vast majority of these benign neoplasms occur in the head and neck region, most commonly involving the 8th cranial nerve. Schwannomas arising from the base of tongue are very rare and, thus, can easily escape the list of differential diagnosis for a posterior tongue mass. A systematic approach is recommended for diagnosis of a posterior tongue mass, with neoplastic, infectious, and congenital categories. We report a case of a 24-year-old female, who presented with pressure sensation in the throat. On imaging, she was found to have a mass in the right posterior tongue with follow-up biopsy results yielding a schwannoma. Characteristic imaging features for various possible etiologies of a posterior tongue mass are also discussed.

Mesenteric masses: approach to differential diagnosis at MRI with histopathologic correlation.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an outstanding tool for the identification and characterization of mesenteric masses. Mesenteric masses may be solid or cystic. Most solid mesenteric masses are neoplastic, with sclerosing mesenteritis a notable exception. Entirely cystic mesenteric masses are typically benign. The excellent soft-tissue contrast afforded by MRI aids in narrowing the differential diagnosis of mesenteric masses. Accurately characterizing both solid and cystic mesenteric masses is important, as management ranges from active surveillance to medical management to surgical resection, depending on the tissue composition of the mass. An MRI-based approach to the differential diagnosis of mesenteric masses is presented.