Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025
Role of Diffusion MRI Tractography in Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery
Published on: July 5, 2021
Osteosarcoma of the skull base presenting as a petrocavernous pseudoaneurysm and masquerading as an intracranial
Nyomi R Washington1, John L Kiley2, Hans Bakken3
1Department of Medicine.
Background:
Telangiectatic osteosarcoma (TOS) is a rare and aggressive high-grade malignant neoplasm composed of blood-filled or empty cystic spaces resembling aneurysmal bone cysts. Uncommonly, TOSs can occur in the skull base.
Observations:
The authors present a case of a TOS that presented as a petrocavernous carotid pseudoaneurysm and then masqueraded as an intracranial abscess. The prognosis for TOSs with intracranial involvement is typically unfavorable and inversely related to the degree of intracranial involvement.
Lessons:
Skull-based malignancies should be part of the differential diagnosis for a rapidly progressing lesion. Recovery of polymicrobial organisms during endoscopic sinus surgery should prompt reconsideration of the differential diagnosis. Postinflammatory changes from endovascular coiling have been described and can confound imaging and clinical findings.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
01:14Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...