Characters of different types of meningiomas on MRI and significance for surgical treatment

Objective To explore the characters of different types of meningiomas on MRI and the significance for surgical treatment.Methods The clinical data of 428 patients with meningiomas underwent surgery in Southern hospital from January 2000 to January 2010 were analyzed retrospectively.The pathological types of meningiomas were identified according to WHO 2007 edition.The characters of meningiomas on MRI were analyzed by PACS software.Results The MRI images of meningothelial type were slightly high or equal signal on T1 image and high signal on T2 image; the images of transitional( mixed)type on MRI were different and the signals were hybrid.The signals of fibrous type were slightly low or equal on both T1 and T2 and homogeneous.The signals of psammomatous type were low on both T1 and T2, and sometimes cystic degeneration and necrosis were found within tumors.The rest of benign meningiomas were rare and usually showed low or equal signals on T1 image and slightly high signals on T2 image.The signals of non - benign meningiomas were mostly low or equal on T1 image and slightly high on T2 image, and cystic degeneration,necrosis and heterogeneous enhancement were common to be seen.Conclusions Specific characteristics on MRI could be seen in different types of meningiomas.The knowledge of their correlations is helpful for preoperative diagnosis and surgical treatment in patients with meningiomas. Key words: Meningioma;  Pathology;  MRI;  Neurosurgical procedures