PA Anatomy: CN/spine: Summary

Summary:

1. It is important to understand where the cranial nerves are located, both with respect to the central nervous system, the bony skull openings through which they pass, and any other adjacent structures along their course, particularly in diagnosing nerve tumors or masses in nearby organs.

2. It is also important to understand the function of the cranial nerves in order to diagnose problems based on patient symptoms.

2. Spinal imaging often begins with radiographs, most often AP and lateral views for the thoracic and lumbar regions.

4. In the cervical region, oblique views are particularly helpful for viewing the neural foramina.

5. Counting vertebral levels can be challenging, and is ideally done starting from the top, where C2 can usually be identified due to its unusual shape, with the dens or odontoid process.

6. The dens allows rotation in the axial plane at the C1-C2 joint.

7. If C2 is not visible, ribs can be used to determine levels, but they are not as reliable, since it is not uncommon to have more or fewer than 12 ribs.