Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Microdissection and Whole Mount Scanning Electron Microscopy Visualization of Mouse Choroid Plexus
Published on: December 16, 2022
Taenia-tela choroidea complex and choroid plexus location help distinguish Dandy-Walker malformation and Blake pouch
Matthew T Whitehead1,2,3, Gilbert Vezina4,5,6, Sarah D Schlatterer5,6,7
1Department of Neuroradiology, Children's National Hospital, 111 Michigan Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20010, USA. mwhitehe@childrensnational.org.
Background:
Dandy-Walker malformation and Blake pouch cysts can have overlapping imaging features. The choroid plexus and associated taenia-tela choroidea complex are displaced inferolaterally in Dandy-Walker malformation and below the vermis in Blake pouch cysts.
Objective:
To determine the normal fetal and postnatal MR appearance of the choroid plexus and taenia-tela choroidea complex, and whether their location can help distinguish Dandy-Walker malformation from Blake pouch cysts.
Materials And Methods:
In this retrospective study, we evaluated brain MR exams from normal-appearing fetuses (gestational age 19-38 weeks) and infants, fetal and postnatal exams in Blake pouch cysts and Dandy-Walker malformation, and ambiguous cases equivocal for mild Dandy-Walker malformation and Blake pouch cysts. We documented choroid plexus and the taenia-tela choroidea complex location and axial and sagittal angles in each case. Then we contrasted and compared the original and updated fetal diagnoses based on taenia-tela choroidea complex and choroid plexus positions.
Results:
The choroid plexus location and the taenia-tela choroidea complex location and angles varied significantly among normal exams, Blake pouch cyst exams and Dandy-Walker malformation exams (P<0.01). Dandy-Walker malformation showed inferolateral displacement of the taenia-tela choroidea complex and choroid plexus distant from the vermis. Adding the taenia-tela choroidea complex and choroid plexus into the assessment improved diagnostic accuracy, especially in ambiguous cases.
Conclusion:
The location of the taenia-tela choroidea complex and choroid plexus provided additional diagnostic neuroimaging clues that could be used in conjunction with other conventional findings to distinguish Dandy-Walker malformation and Blake pouch cysts. Normal, Blake pouch cyst, and Dandy-Walker malformation cases differed with regard to taenia-tela choroidea complex and choroid plexus position. Inferolateral taenia-tela choroidea complex displacement distant from the vermian margin was characteristic of Dandy-Walker malformation.
More Related Videos
04:25Author Spotlight: Bridging Gaps in Anatomy and Establishing a Foundation for Algorithmic Studies
Published on: December 15, 2023
12:31A Visual Description of the Dissection of the Cerebral Surface Vasculature and Associated Meninges and the Choroid Plexus from Rat Brain
Published on: November 14, 2012