Popis: |
Prenatal and postnatal development of the brain is controlled by a multiplicity of genetic mechanisms. Genetic abnormalities and environmental insults are responsible for a bewildering array of developmental disorders associated with brain malformations. Classic embryology remains key to understanding these, and an appreciation of the processes of gastrulation, dorsal and ventral induction, neuronal differentiation, proliferation, histogenesis, and migration and myelination will help the neurosurgeon understand the conditions likely to be encountered in clinical practice. In this chapter the more common and many less common brain malformations are reviewed. These include anencephaly, holoprosencephaly, septo-optic dysplasia, schizencephaly, grey matter heterotopias, lissencephaly/pachygyria, polymicrogyria, porencephaly, developmental anomalies of the corpus callosum, microcephaly, hemimegalencephaly, and posterior fossa malformations. The emphasis is on promoting an understanding of concepts and on clinical implications, rather than on imparting detail. |