Tag: Medical students

Pages geared towards the education level of a medical student.

Neuroradiology procedures

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Neuroradiology procedures

Radiologists perform a number of procedures using imaging guidance to make procedures safer, easier, and more achievable than doing procedures without imaging guidance. Neuroradiologists perform many procedures, with the most common being lumbar puncture and myelogram. Other procedures include biopsy, pain procedures and blood patch.

Initial videos in this list include basic considerations for procedures, lumbar punctures, and myelograms.

Be sure to check back often as more videos are added that cover your favorite neuroradiology exams, or check out our full channel on Youtube.

Neuroradiology search patterns

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Neuroradiology search patterns

As radiologists, we often forget that we didn’t know how to go through a study from the beginning. This playlist will be a collection of videos on how to approach studies from scratch. This may be particularly useful to beginning medical students and residents who haven’t sat down at the PACS and looked through a study many times.

Be sure to check back often as more videos are added that cover your favorite neuroradiology exams, or check out our full channel on Youtube.

Reporting a lumbar spine MRI – disc extrusion

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Reporting a lumbar spine MRI – disc extrusion

Lumbar spine MRI is probably one of the most commonly performed MRI exams in radiology. This is because back pain is extraordinarily common and increases with age. As a result, we do a number of studies to try to determine what is the cause of the back pain.

There are a number of things that can cause back pain. Discs can bulge (and protrude, or extrude), facets can degenerate, and endplates can erode. All of these can cause pain. Unfortunately, the nerves of the spinal cord and extremities pass through this region and their compression can cause a lot of pain.

Today we’ll do things a little differently. I’m going to show you an example case on the radiology PACS of a young patient with back pain radiating down the right leg. I’ll show you how I set up the study to view and systematically how I look at it. In addition, I’ll show you how our reports are formatted and how you can as well.

This patient has a disc extrusion at L4-L5 which is pressing on the exiting nerve root in the lateral recess (or subarticular zone). This is just one of the many reasons to have radicular pain.

The level of this video is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in spine imaging. General medicine practitioners will see plenty of back pain and may wonder what we are thinking. Neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons can learn more to strengthen their practice as well.

See this and other videos on our Youtube channel.

Noncontrast MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) neck radiology search pattern

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Noncontrast MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) neck radiology search pattern

Another frequent study will encounter in neuroradiology is an MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) of the neck. This test is frequently used to evaluate the arteries of the neck, including the carotid and vertebral arteries.

MRA of the neck can be performed without contrast using a technique called time of flight imaging, which depends on signal from flowing blood to create the image. MRA of the neck can also be performed with contrast in certain situations, such as need to better evaluate the aortic arch and great vessel origins or need to imaging dynamically.

MRA of the neck is primarily used to evaluate for vessel occlusion or narrowing, although vascular malformations may also be evaluated. It can also be used to follow up on vascular findings seen on other studies, such as doppler ultrasound of the carotids. The most common indication, however, is to evaluate for stroke, when it is combined with MRI and MRA of the brain.

This video will walk you through a step-by-step approach to evaluating an MRA of the neck, including how to approach each vessel. I use an approach that moves from anterior to posterior and then right to left. While others may have a different strategy, the most important part is to have a strategy and stick to it.

The level of this lecture is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology or may see patients with atherosclerotic disease or stroke.

See this and other videos on our Youtube channel.

MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) head radiology search pattern

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) head radiology search pattern

As a neuroradiologist, one of the most frequently ordered tests you will encounter is an MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) of the brain. This test is frequently used to evaluate the vessels of the brain, including the carotid and vertebral arteries and their intracranial branches of the circle of Willis.

MRA of the brain can evaluate for vessel occlusion, dissection, aneurysm, and vascular malformations. It can also be used to follow up on vascular findings seen on other studies. The most common indication, however, is to evaluate for stroke, when it is combined with MRA of the neck and an MRI of the brain.

This video will walk you through a step-by-step approach to evaluating an MRA of the brain, including how to approach each vessel. I use an approach that moves from anterior to posterior and then right to left. While others may have a different strategy, the most important part is to have a strategy and stick to it.

The level of this lecture is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology or may see patients with stroke or other vascular malformations of the brain.

See this and other videos on our Youtube channel.

Cervical spine CT (computed tomography) radiology search pattern

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Cervical spine CT (computed tomography) radiology search pattern

For those aspiring radiologists out there, has anyone ever explained to you what you should do when you sit down at the PACS station to look at a cervical spine CT? What are the common indications to get a cervical spine CT?

For those non-radiologists out there, have you ever wondered what exactly is going through a radiologists mind as they look through the images? How do you even begin to look at all of the imaging findings?

This video attempts to demystify a lot of that by showing exactly how you might sit down and look at a cervical spine CT on your own. It starts with the reformatted images (those in sagittal and coronal planes) to get an overview of the alignment and anatomy before reviewing the axial images. This video doesn’t include everything you should look at, but is a guide for how you might begin.

The level of this video is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology. It may also be of interest to those with an interest in radiology who are simply curious to learn more about radiology.

See this and other videos on our Youtube channel.

Brain MRI sequences overview

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) sequences overview

For those aspiring radiologists out there, do you know how to tell the difference in sequences on an MRI of the brain? Has anyone ever sat down with at the PACS station to show you what each sequence is and why you might look at it?

For those non-radiologists out there, have you ever wondered what exactly is going through a radiologists mind as they look through the images?

This video attempts to demystify a lot of that by showing exactly what types of images (sequences) make up a brain MRI, both for a routine noncontrast MRI or an MRI with contrast. It starts from the beginning and shows you what kind of images you have and where to begin as you scroll through. This also shows you a little bit of the search pattern you might employ as you look at the different images.

The level of this video is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology. It may also be of interest to those with an interest in radiology who are simply curious to learn more about radiology.

See this and other videos on ourYoutube channel.

Imaging intracranial hemorrhage – Lecture

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Imaging intracranial hemorrhage – Lecture

This lecture covers general imaging appearance (CT and MRI) of intracranial hemorrhage, how it evolves over time, and a strategic approach to diagnosing causes of intracranial hemorrhage. Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and traumatic intracranial hemorrhage are not really covered much here, with the emphasis on intraparenchymal hemorrhage.

The level of this lecture is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology or may see patients with intracranial hemorrhage or stroke.

Imaging intracranial hemorrhage – Recap

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Imaging intracranial hemorrhage – Recap

In summary, you should be familiar with the appearance of intracranial hemorrhage on CT and MR. You should also know some of the causes. Hypertensive hemorrhage is the most common, and when the presentation is typical, it is the most likely diagnosis.

Patients who are younger, have unusual distributions or presentations, or other concerns should go on to have CT angiogram (CTA) and possibly MR as appropriate.

The level of this lecture is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology or may see patients with intracranial hemorrhage or stroke.

Check out the full Youtube playlist to see the entire lecture.

Imaging intracranial hemorrhage – Case 7 – Venous infarct

Posted on by Brent Weinberg, MD

Imaging intracranial hemorrhage – Case 7 – Venous infarct

Whenever you see hemorrhage in an unusual distribution, such as bilateral involvement, or involvement across vascular boundaries, you might think about venous infarct. Venous infarcts are often characterized by hemorrhage in unusual distribution or location.

When you are suspicious, you should look closely at the veins on MRI as well as consider CT venogram or MR venogram. This patient has hemorrhage in the left occipital lobe and left cerebellum, with hemorrhage in the left transverse sinus. The unusual edema in the right basal ganglia is also a clue.

The level of this lecture is appropriate for medical students, junior residents, and trainees in other specialties who have an interest in neuroradiology or may see patients with intracranial hemorrhage or stroke.

Check out the full Youtube playlist to see the entire lecture.