Radiologic examination of patients with stroke

The reasons for radiologic evaluation of patients with cerebrovascular accidents, or strokes, and transient ischemic attacks are (1) to demonstrate surgically correctable vascular lesions and intracerebral masses due to hematomas and (2) when necessary, to confirm a diagnosis of atherosclerotic brain disease and rule out the presence of such conditions as subdural hematoma, aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, or tumor. The radiologic techniques available include plain skull radiography, ultrasound, radionuclide scanning, computerized transaxial tomography (CTT), and cerebral angiography.