Sections
Structural Imaging: Introduction | Neuroimaging of TBI | Cortical Contusions and Their Most Likely Region
of Occurrence | Contemporary Clinical Neuroimaging of TBI | Quantitative Neuroimaging for the Clinician | Conclusion | Key Clinical Points | Recommended Readings | References
Excerpt
Structural imaging refers to various techniques that
generate static views of the brain, primarily using the methods
of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging
(MRI). The brain can be readily compartmentalized into three areas:
white matter (WM), gray matter (GM), and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)–filled
spaces or cavities. Brain tissue has its own vasculature and blood
vessels that can be separately imaged using structural imaging techniques,
but the totality of the brain's vasculature makes up a
small percentage of total brain volume. Because of the water content
of blood and the makeup of cerebral vessels, most of the cerebral
vasculature gets classified within the spectrum of CSF or of the
parenchymal tissue where a vessel is embedded using standard imaging
sequences. Thus, the microvasculature within GM and WM (unless a disease
state exists or a hemorrhage has occurred) becomes classified as
the tissue that it is embedded in. From a structural imaging and
gross anatomy perspective, this general rule of WM, GM, or CSF classification
applies for any region of interest.