A forum dedicated to the expansion in neuropathology knowledge for students and practitioners alike.
Acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in a variety of hemorrhagic cerebral insults leading to brain death. This photograph depicting a brain of a person involved in a motor vehicle accident, shows a large hemorrhage in the left temporal-occipital region that 1. involves the brain tissue proper (i.e. intraparenchymal hemorrhage), 2. extends beneath the arachnoid layer of... Continue Reading →
A high level walk-through of the process of a pathological evaluation of a specimen biopsied for an intraoperative consultation, including frozen section preparation. https://youtu.be/XU9zIjQ7Sjw For further study on this topic and others related to neuropathology and neuroanatomy, the following books come highly recommended, and a small portion of the proceeds (or any Amazon purchase through these links)... Continue Reading →
Part 2 of a multi-part series on Multiple Sclerosis that reviews the microscopic features and histopathologic diagnosis of a frozen section of brain tissue assessed during intraoperative consultation. https://youtu.be/60Qcjd3Ri38 For further study on this topic and others related to neuropathology and neuroanatomy, the following books come highly recommended, and a small portion of the proceeds (or any... Continue Reading →
Part one of a multi-part series dedicated to Multiple Sclerosis: Pathogenesis. https://youtu.be/iwZ_UmOprN4 For further study on this topic and others related to neuropathology and neuroanatomy, the following books come highly recommended, and a small portion of the proceeds (or any Amazon purchase through these links) help with expenses of hosting this site: ... Continue Reading →
Located between the bony vertebrae of the spinal column, the vertebral disks act as cushions and shock absorbers to allow for freedom of movement of the spine. Activities that increase pressure in the lower back, such as repeatedly lifting heavy objects while bending at the waist, may cause the inner gel-like substance (called the center nucleus) of a... Continue Reading →
Like the brain, the optic nerve is surrounded by meningeal coverings (called the pia, arachnoid and dura) that can infrequently give rise to a meningioma. Although often histologically benign, intraorbital meningiomas can cause significant morbidity and blindness due to optic nerve compression. Surgical removal can be curative, as was the case for this patient, whose tumor exhibited the typical... Continue Reading →
Peripheral nerve fibers are sheathed by Schwann cells, which occasionally give rise to a Schwannoma (also termed neurilemoma), a circumscribed tumor that typically occurs along the peripheral aspect of a nerve. Unlike neurofibromas, schwannomas often can be excised without sacrificing the parent nerve, leaving the patient functionally intact. Depending on the degree of microscopic microcystic changes, schwannomas can have a soft... Continue Reading →
The spinal cord is covered by protective outer connective tissue layers called the pia-arachnoid or leptomeninges. Inflammatory or infectious processes that involve the leptomeninges, called leptomeningitis, can also involve the adjacent spinal nerve roots, which similarly have an outer covering of connective tissue that is continuous with the leptomeninges. The image depicts a spinal cord with acute... Continue Reading →
Histopathological diagnosis of Peripheral Neuroblastic Tumors explained (i.e. Neuroblastoma, Ganglioneuroblastoma, and Ganglioneuroma), with an example review of Ganglioneuroma. https://youtu.be/w9FEXK8tvJg
Renal cell carcinoma, a relatively common cancer of the kidney, is a highly vascular lesion that will typically bleed extensively during surgery. Just prior to surgery this renal cell carcinoma that had metastasized to the paraspinal soft tissue was embolized using PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), the blue foreign embolic material within the vessel lumen. This process of embolization was... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Neuropathology 