Magnetic resonance and computed tomographic imaging of mass lesions of the cerebral ventricles. A prospective comparative study.

This study was undertaken to investigate the relative merits of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of primary lesions of the cerebral ventricles. Since 1982, 14 patients, 7 males and 7 females, aged 8 to 68 years were diagnosed as harboring ventricular mass lesions. Eight masses were located in the lateral, 5 in the third, and one in the fourth ventricle. The diagnostic contribution and relative merits of two imaging modalities were compared in each case. In 57 per cent of cases the CT scan was of superior diagnostic value, and in 21 per cent of the patients MR imaging proved to be either more sensitive or specific than CT scanning. The availability of intravenous contrast agents for CT and not MR, as well as the capability of CT to definitely identify lesion calcification, accounted for the better performance of CT scanning in this series of patients.