|
A 54 year-old man with poorly controlled hypertension collapsed and was found unresponsive. On examination, he had small, poorly reactive pupils, no horizontal eye movements, quadriparesis and bilateral Babinski responses. |
| Pontine Intracerebral Hemorrhage:
Axial CT scans of the head at the level
of the mid-pons. Note the large white area, which represents acute
hemorrhage, in the center of the pons. Also note the extension of the
hemorrhage into the adjacent fourth ventricle.
The pons is a classic location for hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. Because of the location of the hemorrhage, the patient is in a coma (involvement of the ascending reticular activating system), has no horizontal eye movements (involvement of the horizontal eye movement centers) and is quadriplegic (involvement of the basis pontis). Prognosis in these cases is usually grim. |
Revised
11/29/06.
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston