Cystic Extension of the Cavum Veli Interpositi

Figure

A 68-year-old man with an acute lacunar cerebral infarct of the left lenticular nucleus and right-sided dysarthria and facial palsy showed, besides alcohol-related cerebral atrophy, a cystic structure (asterisk) isointense to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This structure was a cystic extension of the cavum veli interpositi (CVI), which is a narrow CSF-filled space between the lateral ventricles, inferior to the fornices, and superior to the third ventricle. It is occasionally seen in immature newborns and disappears with further maturation of the brain. Cystic extension of the CVI is extremely rare in adults, and only isolated cases have been described. The accompanying pronounced atrophy of the corpus callosum (arrows) is probably due to the patient’s chronic alcohol consumption.

Dr. med. Dr. habil. Dirk Bandorski, FACC, FESC, MHBA, Dr. med. Dirk Czapowski, Dr. med. Jens Allendörfer
Neurologische Klinik Bad Salzhausen, ASKLEPIOS, Nidda/Bad Salzhausen, [e-mail]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.

Translated from the original German by David Roseveare.

Cite this as: Bandorski D, Czapowski D, Allendörfer J: Cystic extension of the cavum veli interpositi. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2020; 117: 136. DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2020.0136b