Four patients were excluded from the study, because they had a tumor associated with the cerebellopontine corner or IAC the data of 249 patients were finally evaluated ( Figure 1). The contrast-enhanced temporal bone MRI images of 253 patients who met the criteria were acquired in this study. The exclusion criteria were images of poor diagnostic quality due to technical or patient-related reasons (e.g., motion artifacts and metal-induced artifacts) and the presence of a tumor that could disrupt the IAC. Patients older than 18 years were included in this study. In the present study, the images of patients, who underwent contrast-enhanced temporal bone imaging using a 3-tesla MRI scanner between Jand December 31, 2019, were evaluated retrospectively. Such knowledge can be also useful for radiologists and anatomists to describe the anatomical features properly. It can be helpful for head and neck surgeons to understand the IAC anatomical features and relations with AICA loops before surgeries, such as IAC bone dissection for tumor removal. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the IAC size and shape and the AICA variations in patients without pathological IAC lesions and to determine the distribution of anatomical variations and measurements by age and gender. However, there is no study in the literature on the relationship between the anatomical features of the IAC and AICA vascular loops. evaluated the IAC morphology using computed tomography (CT) scan ( 7). Previous studies have mostly examined the clinical symptoms of vascular loops of the AICA, but did not report any significant relationship ( 4- 6). T2-weighted (T2W) MRI with thin sections can successfully demonstrate the relationship between cranial nerves and vascular structures in patients with signs of neurovascular compression ( 2, 3). It is important to investigate and understand anatomical variations, especially before surgical procedures. With recent advances in MRI technologies, small voxel sizes, acquired at a high magnetic field strength, have allowed for the optimal evaluation of anatomical features. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides detailed information for the evaluation of the cerebellopontine region and the IAC anatomy ( 2). In the cerebellopontine region, anatomical variations, especially variations in the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) in relation to cranial nerves passing through the internal acoustic canal (IAC), are common ( 1). BackgroundĪnatomical variations in vascular structures are frequently encountered. Vascular Loop Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Internal Acoustic Canal Temporal Bone MRI 1. The results of the present study showed that the AICA loop variations were closely related to the size and shape of the IAC.
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