A forum dedicated to the expansion in neuropathology knowledge for students and practitioners alike.
Mystery case review #3 is one of a series of videos designed to review the variety of brain tumors that arise in the context of a familial tumor syndromes. Test your knowledge with questions posed to the audience in a quiz like format. In-depth answers are provided for each quiz question. This series is perfect... Continue Reading →
Mystery case review #1 is the first of a series of videos designed to review the variety of brain tumors that arise in the context of a familial tumor syndromes. Test your knowledge with questions posed to the audience in a quiz like format. In-depth answers are provided for each quiz question. This series is... Continue Reading →
Vascular brain lesions have increased risk of intracranial bleeding and, therefore, present a challenge to neurosurgeons attempting surgical resection. Such tumors may first be embolized prior to surgical excision in order to reduce the risk of bleeding. Onyx, an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer, is one of many embolic agents available to accomplish this task. Onyx has... Continue Reading →
The hippocampus is critical to learning and memory. Patients with hippocampal atrophy often have difficulty with declarative memory (i.e. remembering facts, names, events, etc.) and making new memories. Hippocampal atrophy can be seen a variety of disease processes, including epilepsy and neurodegenerative disease. Note how atrophy in this elderly patient, who had memory difficulties prior to... Continue Reading →
The cerebral hemispheres are supplied with blood via three major arteries: the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries. This coronal section through the frontal lobes shows hemorrhage involving the vascular territory of which of these three major cerebral arteries? Answer: The cerebral hemispheres are supplied with blood via three major arteries: the anterior, middle, and posterior... Continue Reading →
Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) is a type of brain damage that affects fetuses and premature babies. At this stage of brain development, the white matter surrounding the ventricles is particularly vulnerable to hypoxic (lack of oxygen) or ischemic (lack of blood flow) injury for a variety of reasons, including high metabolic demand in a location that... Continue Reading →
This case presents just one of many reasons why prenatal care is so important for prevention, detection, and treatment of devastating intrauterine infections. This video includes review of the microscopic appearance of the Herpes-infected brain and macroscopic findings of affected visceral organs. https://youtu.be/L7eHnEB9iDM
Cranial nerve schwannomas most commonly arise from Schwann cells that myelinate the distal aspect of the vestibular division of the 8th cranial nerve. Vestibular schwannomas, sometimes referred to by the double misnomer "acoustic neuroma" (it is a double misnomer because they are not neuromas and they do not usually involve the acoustic division of cranial... Continue Reading →
For many years the only mechanism for observing gross pathologic features of CNS neoplasms was to examine brains extracted after death. However, advancements in imaging technology now allow providers to observe typical gross neuropathological findings in the brains of living patients. Some brain tumors have characteristic MRI findings, an example of which is a cyst... Continue Reading →
Schwannomas are peripheral nerve sheath tumors that arise from cells that myelinate peripheral nerve axons called Schwann cells. A classic histologic finding in schwannomas are Verocay bodies (arrows), which consist of short palisades of tumor cell nuclei separated by eosinophilic anucleate bands of tumor cell processes. Verocay bodies are often more prominent in schwannomas that arise in the setting of a... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Neuropathology 