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X-ray signs of inflammatory brain disease
Last reviewed: 03.07.2025
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Infectious and inflammatory diseases of the brain can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Bacterial lesions include meningitis, abscess and empyema.
The consequences of the inflammatory process may be the phenomena of atrophy of the brain substance, displacement towards the brain structures, displacement and expansion of the cerebral ventricles. Sometimes, tomograms reveal expanded subarachnoid spaces (cystic arachnoiditis) and deposits of lime salts in old foci of inflammation (especially in tuberculosis).
In parasitic infections (the most common of which are cysticercosis, echinococcosis and toxoplasmosis), CT and MRI reveal multiple cysts. Often, calcareous inclusions are visible in the affected areas. The latter are often quite clearly visible already on general images of the skull, which forces the doctor to perform a full clinical and radiological examination.
Hypertensive syndrome
This is a syndrome of increased intracranial pressure. It develops with volumetric formations in the cranial cavity, especially often with tumors, and a violation of the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricles of the brain, i.e. with the so-called occlusive hydrocephalus. As is known, there are two types of hydrocephalus - open and closed. With the first, there is no occlusion of the cerebrospinal fluid pathways and hypertensive syndrome does not develop, therefore the radiation manifestations of these two forms are different.
With the advent of CT and MRI, diagnostics of hydrocephalus has become easier. Tomograms determine the position, shape, size of the ventricles and other cerebrospinal fluid spaces. At the same time, pathological conditions that caused the development of hypertensive syndrome (brain malformations, tumors, etc.) are detected.