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What Causes Painin Left Side Of Neck Stemming Down Below?
Question: I had a Ct Scan Brain.
The findings were The cerebral brain parenchyma shows normal grey/white matter differentiation. No acute intracranial haemorrhage or infarct is detected. No Mass effect, midline shift, hydrocephalus or effacement of the basal cisterns is seen. A focal hypodensity in the left inferior basal ganglion is likely to represent enlarged perivascular space. Tiny fat densities in both cavernous sinuses are in keeping with a normal variant.
No abnormal enhancing lesion or leptomeningeal enhancement is seen. The brain stem and cerebellum are unremarkable.
The visualised osseous structures and mastoid air-cells are unremarkable. Mucosal thickening is noted at bilateral maxillary sinuses.
Comment No significant intracranial is seen.
However I have been having pain in the left side of my neck stemming down to below neck and I am worried , can you tell me more about this scan and the finding //
Brief Answer:
no vascular problems in the results
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
I can go through it in different parts.
The cerebral brain parenchyma shows normal grey/white matter- the brain tissue , which is made up of white and grey matter appears normal
No acute intracranial haemorrhage or infarct detected- no bleeding areas or no blood vessels in the brain are blocked up
No mass effect, midline shift, hydrocephalus or effacement of basal cisterns seen- no masses are seen in the brain.
If a mass is present in the brain , parts of the brain may be shifted to another side (midline shift) or there may be blockage of the cerebrospinal fluid which would cause hydrocephalus- NONE OF THIS IS PRESENT
A focal hypodensity likely means enlarged perivascular space- the area around a particular blood vessel is enlarged but this would not cause any problems
Tiny densities in the cavernous sinus (part of the brain)- normal
No enhancing lesion- again no masses seen
The brain stem and cerebellum are also normal
The only significant findings are mucosal thickening in the sinuses which can occur with mild sinusitis.
The comment or summary states that the overall scan is normal and nothing significant is seen.
It is understandable to be worried about the pain.
The blood supply in the brain- there was no evidence of any bleeds or any areas in the brain that were not getting enough blood according to the scan
There are large blood vessels in the neck - mainly the carotid arteries (blood goes to the brain) and the jugular veins.
In some persons with high blood pressure , high cholesterol or diabetes, blockage can occur in the carotid artery but this would not cause pain in the neck, it would affect the blood to the brain.
It would be associated with possible dizziness (if it affected the blood to the brain), possible loss of consciousness.
These vessels would only cause pain if they were inflamed , for example in persons with autoimmune diseases.
It is highly unlikely that the pain is related to any vascular issue especially with the normal result.
The pain is more likely related to the bones and muscles especially if it is worse with movement.
If you wish to confirm the possible arthritis , your doctor can consider an xray of the neck and shoulder which would look at the bones.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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