Pictorial Essay of Cranial Nerves Lesions on MRI Our Experience

The twelve pairs of cranial nerves originate from various regions of brain from anterior to posterior, and are designated as per their attachments to the brain. The various bony channels and foramina in the skull base holds and transmits the cranial nerves along with vasculature. It is essential for all the skull base neurosurgeons and the radiologist to be wise enough with the complex anatomy of skull base for early suspicion and localization of skull base lesion, and for early the uraupectic decision making. In present era for diagnostic purposes, CT and MRI are complementary to each other and are frequently used for localization of lesion. The aim of this Pictorial essay is to demonstrate the cranial nerve lesions through MR imaging, their signal intensity and their extension to soft tissues.