A comparative anatomical CT study of the vascular and nervous structures of the cerebello-pontine angle.

The arteries and veins of the cerebellopontine angle have been injected with a contrast medium permitting a precise anatomical reconnaissance of their topography and relations. These specimens have been explored by CT in order to define the opacified vessels and to differentiate them from the adjacent nervous tissue. Thus in CT it is possible to locate the cerebellar arteries, the petrous and medullo-pontine veins and the nerves of the cerebello-pontine angle. This study describes the normal appearance of the flocculus from the arteries and veins. Moreover it should contribute to the definition of the criteria of reliability of a CT diagnosis and its limits in the cerebello-pontine angle.