Objective To investigate the value of virtual reality (VR) technology on the anatomy and variation of intracranial torcular Herophili (TH) region. Methods Subjects registered were 45 patients with intracranial meningioma which did not involve TH and 21 patients with trigeminal neuralgia or hemifacial spasm. All participants were examined by complete three dimensional contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance venography，which was then used to reconstruct TH in the VR workstation to observe the composition and drainage characteristics. Results According to the relationship among the superior sagittal sinus(SSS)，straight sinus(StS) and bilateral transverse sinus(TS)，the VR anatomy of TH region can be classified into three types: typeⅠ,Ⅱ, Ⅲ, with 18, 15, and 33 cases in each type, respectively. According to the way of the SSS drained into the TS, it can be divided into four types: typeⅠ,Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ were 18, 26,17 and 5 cases, respectively. According to the way of StS drained into the TS, it can be divided into four types as well: typeⅠ,Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, with 18, 23, and 7 and 18 cases in each type, respectively. The right TS was the dominated pathway for drainage in 25 cases, left TS was the dominated pathway in 9 cases. In the remaining 32 cases, TS in both sides played equal roles. Conclusion Although the variability of the anatomy of TH region is great , it is effective to observe the anatomy of TH region using VR, which can contribute to understanding the anatomy and drainage characteristics of TH region and has great significance on the clinical diagnosis and the operation at TH region.
Just Accepted