A case of hemorrhagic pineal cyst: MR/CT correlation

A 30-year-old male had a headache for one month and was evaluated with both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR). These scans demonstrated an obstructing pineal cyst containing layered acute and subacute blood products by MR criteria. The concurrent scans allowed correlation between CT and MR findings in this rare complication of an unusual entity, explained his headache (and the development of later upward gaze paresis), provided a precise surgical/anatomic approach, and gave a good final clinical result. The report illustrates appropriate CT and MR images and pathological specimen.