Compressive lesions of the abducens nerve in the subarachnoid space disclosed by thin-slice magnetic resonance imaging.

We evaluated the usefulness of thin-slice magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as a tool for diagnosing compressive lesions of the abducens nerve in the subarachnoid space. We performed thin-slice MR imaging of the brain stem in two patients with abducens nerve palsy. Thin-slice MR images showed the abducens nerves in the subarachnoid space and clearly showed compressive lesions of the nerves by a brain tumor in both cases. These findings suggest that thin-slice MR imaging is useful for the evaluation of compressive lesions of the abducens nerve in the subarachnoid space.