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Schwannoma - Trigeminal Nerve

A 37 year-old man presented with numbness and pain on the left side of his face.

Show the Tumor on T1 and T2                          Show the Gadolinium Enhancement

Schwannoma: (Top Left) T2-weighted axial MRI; (Top Right) T1-weighted with gadolinium axial MRI; (Bottom Left) T1-weighted coronal MRI; (Bottom Right) T1-weighted with gadolinium coronal MRI. Note the nodular mass adjacent to the pons that enhances with gadolinium (right images). Surgical excision showed that the mass was a schwannoma.

Schwannomas are histologically benign tumors seen along the course of peripheral nerves, nerve roots, and cranial nerves [especially cranial nerves V (trigeminal) and VIII (vestibulocochlear)]. They may occur in isolation or in association with neurofibromatosis. They arise from the Schwann cells that create the myelin sheath around peripheral nerves. They result in symptoms when they disrupt the function of the nerve from which they arise, or cause mass effect on adjacent structures.


Revised 11/29/06.
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston