Cerebral herniation

Abstract

Cerebral herniation refers to the displacement of the brain tissues from their normal compartments into adjacent spaces, and are the most common secondary manifestation of any space-occupying intracranial mass regardless of its etiology. Several types of herniations have been described following anatomical basis (subfalcine, descending transtentorial, ascending transtentorial, transalar, and transcranial). The availability and speed of CT make it very useful in critically ill patients who may not tolerate either the wait for or duration of an MRI examination; however, MRI allows better characterization of brain herniations as well as early diagnosis of ischemic and hemorrhagic complications.