ILLUMINATIONS
Lumps, bumps and funny shaped heads
Correspondence to:
Helen Williams, Radiology Department, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6NH, UK; helen.williams@bch.nhs.uk
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Abnormal head shape may be due to congenital or acquired conditions including birth injury, and is the most common reason for referral to a paediatric neurosurgeon.1 2 Birth injuries may present immediately or late, and imaging is rarely required in order to correctly identify the type of injury. However, an understanding of the underlying pathophysiological processes is helpful in order to appreciate potential complications that can occur in association with these injuries. When assessing an infant or child with an abnormally shaped head, it is important to differentiate between birth moulding, positional plagiocephaly and craniosynostosis which may require surgical treatment. The aim of this article is to explain the differences between these conditions, how they are best imaged and demonstrate some of the imaging findings. Definitions are given in box 1.
The skull is formed from multiple separate bones that develop in the first weeks of embryonic life from mesenchyme enveloping
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