Abscess of the Medulla Oblongata

Brainstem abscess and the syndrome of acute tegmental encephalitis

“…CSF changes have been documented in 22 cases [8,11,15,17,18,20,21,24,28,29,32,33,34,36,[40][41][42], and this report]. The CSF pressure was measured in 14 patients and was reported as normal.…”

“…An initial unilateral localization with ipsilateral cranial nerve palsies and contralateral hemiparesis is typical. All of Weickhardt and Watts' [42] collected cases of medullary abscess showed cranial nerve palsies initially on the right side, but this tendency has not been borne out in subsequent cases, which show a random right-left distribution. Eventually, all patients demonstrate long tract signs; however, this is less common with a medullary or mesencephalic abscess.…”

“…The process then extends diffusely throughout most of the brainstem. Primary spinocerebellar tract involvement may mimic a cerebellar lesion [42].…”

“…When localization is prompt, intrinsic spread is minimal 1.351. Pathologically, a tubular abscess configuration suggests spread along white matter tracts [41,42], as with spinal cord abscess [27, 4 11. Once the parenchyma is involved, toxins are released which can reach the reticular perivascular spaces [44] to incite a cellular (neutrophilic and mononuclear) response in the CSF [ 5 , 181.…”

Brainstem abscess and the syndrome of acute tegmental encephalitis

“…CSF changes have been documented in 22 cases [8,11,15,17,18,20,21,24,28,29,32,33,34,36,[40][41][42], and this report]. The CSF pressure was measured in 14 patients and was reported as normal.…”

“…An initial unilateral localization with ipsilateral cranial nerve palsies and contralateral hemiparesis is typical. All of Weickhardt and Watts' [42] collected cases of medullary abscess showed cranial nerve palsies initially on the right side, but this tendency has not been borne out in subsequent cases, which show a random right-left distribution. Eventually, all patients demonstrate long tract signs; however, this is less common with a medullary or mesencephalic abscess.…”

“…The process then extends diffusely throughout most of the brainstem. Primary spinocerebellar tract involvement may mimic a cerebellar lesion [42].…”

“…When localization is prompt, intrinsic spread is minimal 1.351. Pathologically, a tubular abscess configuration suggests spread along white matter tracts [41,42], as with spinal cord abscess [27, 4 11. Once the parenchyma is involved, toxins are released which can reach the reticular perivascular spaces [44] to incite a cellular (neutrophilic and mononuclear) response in the CSF [ 5 , 181.…”

Chronic abscess of the brain stem

“…Most of the cases previously reported have short neurological histories (Weickhardt and Watts, 1944;Hulme, 1961;Weickhardt and Davis, 1964;Van Gilder et al, 1974). Death usually ensues quickly, often in days.…”

Brainstem abscess and the syndrome of acute tegmental encephalitis

“…CSF changes have been documented in 22 cases [8,11,15,17,18,20,21,24,28,29,32,33,34,36,[40][41][42], and this report]. The CSF pressure was measured in 14 patients and was reported as normal.…”

“…An initial unilateral localization with ipsilateral cranial nerve palsies and contralateral hemiparesis is typical. All of Weickhardt and Watts' [42] collected cases of medullary abscess showed cranial nerve palsies initially on the right side, but this tendency has not been borne out in subsequent cases, which show a random right-left distribution. Eventually, all patients demonstrate long tract signs; however, this is less common with a medullary or mesencephalic abscess.…”

“…The process then extends diffusely throughout most of the brainstem. Primary spinocerebellar tract involvement may mimic a cerebellar lesion [42].…”

“…When localization is prompt, intrinsic spread is minimal 1.351. Pathologically, a tubular abscess configuration suggests spread along white matter tracts [41,42], as with spinal cord abscess [27, 4 11. Once the parenchyma is involved, toxins are released which can reach the reticular perivascular spaces [44] to incite a cellular (neutrophilic and mononuclear) response in the CSF [ 5 , 181.…”

Chronic abscess of the brain stem

“…Most of the cases previously reported have short neurological histories (Weickhardt and Watts, 1944;Hulme, 1961;Weickhardt and Davis, 1964;Van Gilder et al, 1974). Death usually ensues quickly, often in days.…”

Brainstem abscess and the syndrome of acute tegmental encephalitis

“…CSF changes have been documented in 22 cases [8,11,15,17,18,20,21,24,28,29,32,33,34,36,[40][41][42], and this report]. The CSF pressure was measured in 14 patients and was reported as normal.…”

“…An initial unilateral localization with ipsilateral cranial nerve palsies and contralateral hemiparesis is typical. All of Weickhardt and Watts' [42] collected cases of medullary abscess showed cranial nerve palsies initially on the right side, but this tendency has not been borne out in subsequent cases, which show a random right-left distribution. Eventually, all patients demonstrate long tract signs; however, this is less common with a medullary or mesencephalic abscess.…”

“…The process then extends diffusely throughout most of the brainstem. Primary spinocerebellar tract involvement may mimic a cerebellar lesion [42].…”

“…When localization is prompt, intrinsic spread is minimal 1.351. Pathologically, a tubular abscess configuration suggests spread along white matter tracts [41,42], as with spinal cord abscess [27, 4 11. Once the parenchyma is involved, toxins are released which can reach the reticular perivascular spaces [44] to incite a cellular (neutrophilic and mononuclear) response in the CSF [ 5 , 181.…”

Chronic abscess of the brain stem

“…Most of the cases previously reported have short neurological histories (Weickhardt and Watts, 1944;Hulme, 1961;Weickhardt and Davis, 1964;Van Gilder et al, 1974). Death usually ensues quickly, often in days.…”