[The computer tomographic appearances of subdural empyemas (author's transl)].

The computer tomographic appearances of subdural empyemas are described, based on 17 cases. The empyema appears underneath the calvarium as a sickle of half-moon shaped translucency. It is separated from the surface of the brain by a narrows opacity which is greatly enhanced by contrast medium. Most cases showed, in addition, a local reaction of the brain due to an encephalitis which resulted in an expansive process greater than that due to the empyema itself.