1. To give a histological overview of cavernomas and their imaging characteristics. 2. To summarise the key imaging features that allow a precise diagnosis. 3. To present some atypical locations that result in a series of differential clinical and radiological characteristics

Cavernous angioma, also known as cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM), cavernous hemangioma, and cavernoma, is a vascular disorder of the central nervous system that may appear either sporadically or exhibit autosomal dominant inheritance.Cavernous angiomas are the most common vascular malformation. They can affect up to 0,5% of the population. Types of vascular malformations are differentiated from one another on the basis of their gross and histopathologic characteristics. Traditionally, intracranial vascular malformations are grouped into the following four groups by Newton and Troost: 1. Arteriovenous malformations are...

Radiographically, high resolution MR imaging is the diagnostic tool of choice for detecting and identifying cavernous malformations (CMs). Cerebral cavernous malformations are characterized by small, nonsymptomatic hemorrhages typically confined to the location of the lesion, only occasionally resulting in clinically significant haemorrhaging. Hemoglobin degradation products such as methemoglobin, hemosiderin, and ferritin present at the site of the lesion alter the local magnetic environment allowing for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection . The appearance of cavernous angima on MRI allows grouping into 4 broad categories ....

MR imaging is the diagnostic tool of choice for detecting and identifying cavernous malformations owing to its high sensitivity and specificity for these small angiographically cryptic lesions. MRI is the method of choice for the long-term follow-up of patients with cavernous angiomas and for the assessment of family members in whom similar lesions are suspected The small lesions are depicted more clearly and are more numerous on gradient-echo images because of the increased susceptibility effects of the sequences. Atypicalfeatures of cavernomas results in a series...

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