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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Role of Diffusion MRI Tractography in Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery
Published on: July 5, 2021
Arrested pneumatization of the skull base: imaging characteristics
Kirk M Welker1, David R DeLone, John I Lane
1Department of Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. welker.kirk@mayo.edu
Objective:
Arrested skull base pneumatization is a benign developmental variant that can be confused with significant skull base disease processes. This study reviews the imaging findings in 30 suspected cases of arrested skull base pneumatization.
Conclusion:
When encountering a nonexpansile lesion with osteosclerotic borders, internal fat, and curvilinear calcifications in the basisphenoid bone or adjacent skull base, radiologists should strongly consider the diagnosis of arrested pneumatization.
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