Abstract
A case of medullary hemorrhage is reported. A 28-year-old man with sudden vertigo, nausea and vomiting was admitted to Matsue Red Cross Hospital on February 8, 1988. Computed tomography revealed a high density area in the left lateral side of the medulla oblongata. Cerebral angiography showed no vascular lesions. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), there was the lesion of high intensity on SE image. On admission, neurological examination showed Wallenberg's syndrome. He was treated conservatively, and Wallenberg's syndrome dissolved gradually. He left our hospital on foot, on March 30, 1988. Spontaneous, nontraumatic hemorrhage in the medulla oblongata is very rare, and only 5 cases of medullary hemorrhage have been reported in literatures. According to these papers, the rarity of medullary hemorrhge is attributed to the vascular construction of brain stem and the distribution of intracerebral vascular malformations. MRI was useful not only for the diagnosis but also for the follow-up observation of the medullary hemorrhage. MRI could show even an old hemorrhagic lesion which could not be detected by CT scan.
