Diagnostic imaging of fetal and pediatric orbital abnormalities

The orbit contains structures from which a wide spectrum of disease can arise. This article focuses on orbital anatomy and a simple compartmental approach to evaluating the orbit on diagnostic imaging. The characteristic findings of key fetal structural diseases and a wide spectrum of pediatric orbital disorders, including inflammatory disorders and developmental lesions, and the differential diagnosis of benign versus malignant masses will be discussed.

Orbital abnormalities in fetuses may be recognized using ultrasound and MRI. Anophthalmia, hypertelorism, and hypotelorism either may be part of a genetic syndrome or may be related to a developmental abnormality of the fetal skull. In the pediatric population, cross-sectional imaging with CT and MRI offers a means to assess which compartments of the orbit are affected. Aggressive masses have characteristic features and must be evaluated for intracranial extension.