CT and MRI diagnosis for epidermoid cyst of central nervous system: A report of 20 cases

Objective: To analyze the CT and MRI features of intracranial and intraspinal epidermoid cyst.Methods: The CT and MRI features of 20 patients with intracranial and intraspinal epidermoid cyst confirmed by pathology were analyzed retrospectively.Results: All the intracranial and intraspinal epidermoid cyst were located in the medial areas or near the medial areas.CT scans showed ovoid or lobulated hypodense mass,and some appeared hyperdense or mixed-dense mass.MRI revealed long T₁ and T₂ signals in most cases.Some appeared short T₁ and long T₂ signals.Conclusions: The CT and MRI features have specific diagnostic value in noncalcific epidermoid cyst,but in diagnosis of calcificed cases,they may not be accurate enough.