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We report 17 cases of chronic extradural haematoma out a total of 411 epidural haematomas treated at the Neurosurgical Department of Padua from 1954 to 1980. The definition, the variations in the presentation, and the CT scan features of chronic epidural haematomas are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report 36 cases of post-traumatic 'primary brain stem haemorrhage' visualized by the CT scan and confirmed at autopsy. Clinical experience shows that many technical factors influence the inability to visualize brain stem haemorrhages. Experimental injection of fresh blood into the pons and midbrain of cadavers shows that lesions as small as 0.25 ml in volume may be visualized. The volume and the anatomical configuration of traumatic lesions of the brain stem extended over a rostro-caudal direction, and their proximity to bony structures at the base of the skull are obstacles to the visualization of brain stem haemorrhages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report 14 cases of vertex epidural haematomas among 478 cases of epidural haematomas that were hospitalized in the Neurosurgical Department of the University Hospital of Padova during the period 1953-1980. We discuss the clinical, diagnostic, and prognostic features. The mortality rate was 50%. In this type of traumatic haematoma prompt surgical treatment is not always followed by good recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report ten cases of post-traumatic posterior fossa haemorrhage occurring in children. All patients were studied by CT scan. Five had an intracerebellar haemorrhage, three a brain stem haemorrhage, and two an extradural haematoma. In four cases we have found the coexistence of supratentorial and infratentorial haemorrhagic lesions. The incidence of posterior fossa haemorrhage in children, the importance of linear occipital fracture, the clinical course, the conservative or surgical treatment, and the prognosis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of a series of 350 patients studied for blunt head trauma by CT scan 10 were found to have an intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH); in 8 cases we could find concomitant CT abnormalities as well as intracerebral contusion or haemorrhage, and in two cases no other CT abnormality was noted. CT scan represents the first reliable and non-surgical tool for identifying this process. Two possible mechanisms that govern the formation of an IVH are postulated: a) an erosion of the ventricular wall by an intracerebral haemorrhage; b) the rupture of subependymal veins deformed by the negative pressure following dilatation of the ventricular wall. The prognosis in our cases is severe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case is presented in which the delayed development of a traumatic intracerebellar haematoma was documented by CT scan. The onset of 'transitory psychotic behaviour' is reported. Possible mechanisms for the delayed evolution of an intraparenchymal haematoma and for the manifestation of such a syndrome are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case histories are reported of 18 patients in whom the diagnosis of primary brain stem haematoma and brain stem haemorrhage was made by computed tomography (CT). The possibility of an early diagnosis of brain stem haematoma, and the differential diagnosis of brain stem haemorrhage by a combination of clinical and tomodensitometric criteria is emphasized. It is concluded that CT is a highly reliable method for the diagnosis, location, and management of brain stem haematoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two cases of giant cerebral aneurysms, the diagnosis of which was made by angiography after a dubious CT scan, are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective appraisal of traditional neuroradiological techniques (such as direct röntgenograms, cerebral angiography RISA-cisternography, and pneumo-cisterno-encephalography, as opposed to the 'new' technique of computer-assisted tomography) was carried out in a series of 82 cases of opto-chiasmatic arachnoiditis, all surgically verified. It is concluded that none of these examinations can provide a reliable diagnosis of opto-chiasmatic arachnoiditis, which preoperatively can only be a tentative diagnosis that becomes final only when confirmed by surgical findings. In the presence of certain progressive neuro-ophthalmological symptoms and signs, a negative neuro-radiological investigation should not deter the neurosurgeon from exploring the chiasmatic region. Computer-assisted tomography, of which the authors have no personal experience in these cases, may hold the future answer to the diagnostic problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]