How to Read a Head CT
Head CT Search Patterns
Head CT: Pneumonic
H: Hemorrhage, Herniation, Hydrocephalus
E: Edema-- Cytotoxic/Vasogenic
A: Asymmetry, Artery
D: Dura, Dural venous sinus
C: Calvaria
T: soft Tissues
Outside In
Superficial soft tissues
Bones
Sinuses and Mastoid Air Cells
Orbits
Extra-axial spaces-- subarachnoid, subdural and epidural space
Ventricles: too large, mass effect?
Brain Parenchyma-- Mass effect, blurring of gray white? vasogenic edema
Inside Out
Brain Parenchyma-- Mass effect? Blurring of gray white? Vasogenic edema? Hemorrhage?
Ventricles: too large, mass effect?
Extra-axial spaces-- subarachnoid, subdural and epidural space
Orbits
Superficial soft tissues
Bones
Sinuses and Mastoid Air Cells
Find the following:
Lobes: Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal
Basal Ganglia and Thalamus
Pituitary and Pineal Gland
Brainstem: Midbrain, Pons, Medulla
Middle Cerebral A., Basilar A, Sagittal Sinus
Identify the 3rd Ventricle: Measure the HU in the ventricle
Look at the bone window images and identify the Maxillary sinus: What HU measured in sinus?