Carotid angiography

Abstract

Our diagnostic equipment had been improved in an extremely fruitful way, since 30 years ago encephalography and ventriculography were introduced into neurology and neurosurgery by Dandy. Since then, cerebral pneumography has been commonly used, and at the present, ventriculograms are considered indispensable by most neurosurgeons in cases of intracranial neoplasm. There was some hesitation in using angiography for practical diagnostic purposes for several reasons. It was first pointed out that the contrast (thorotrast) used for cerebral angiography might be noxious. The thorotrast has been employed by Moniz and Lima since 1931. The danger which might be connected to the injection of this substance into the vascular system has been pointed out by several authors (Northfield and Russel 21 , Stuck and Reeves 26 , Ekstrom and Lindgren 1 ). Other authors meanwhile have published that they have succeeded in producing sarcomas in rats and mice after subcutaneous injection of thorotrast (Roussy, Oberling and Guerin 2 4 , Selbie 25 ). These observations are important since it is not to be avoided that occasional periarterial injection of the contrast substance may occur in angiography. Busch has observed that leukopenia occurred 8 years or more, after angiography with thorotrast.