Brain CT Essentials

Imaging

Video course

by Alexander Mamourian, MD

Diagnosing brain pathologies can seem difficult. This course will demystify brain CT for you. You will review basic brain and skull anatomy and learn how to diagnose common diseases encountered in your daily practice. You’ll learn how to manipulate the image in a way that will greatly improve the quality of your patients' scans. We will also teach you how to recognize common artifacts that may be mistaken for disease, thereby, avoiding further unnecessary imaging or therapy.

3h 6m

8 Quizzes

5 CME

What’s in it for you?

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After completing this course, you will be able to

Master the use of window, level, and data filtering settings to optimize the display of CT images for the suspected pathology.
Recognize and differentiate hemorrhage into the subarachnoid, subdural, and epidural spaces.
Describe the CT findings for acute infarction and the evolution of infarctions.
Demonstrate the role of CT angiography and perfusion CT for the stroke patient.
Describe the CT findings for nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Recognize intra- and extra-axial hemorrhages and tumors.
Recognize common traumatic injuries of the brain and skull.
Distinguish between brain masses caused by tumors, infections, and demyelinating diseases.
Identify CT findings in patients with metabolic disorders.
Recognize common diseases involving the skull that can be diagnosed with CT such as multiple myeloma, fibrous dysplasia, and osteoma.

What's inside

Free

Chapter 1

The basics

Refresh your memory with an anatomy primer on the brain and skull. You’ll also learn how to manipulate CT imaging controls to improve views of a suspected pathology.

4 lessons

18m

The basics intro

Describing the basic anatomy of the brain

Describing the basic anatomy of the skull

Recognizing the effect of window and level on CT images

The basics quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 2

Trauma imaging

Here, you’ll learn to recognize and localize hemorrhages on CT as well as identify the cause. You’ll also cover common CT interpretation errors made in the context of trauma.

6 lessons

32m

Trauma imaging intro

Recognizing extra-axial hemorrhage

10m

Defining shear injury

Identifying intra-axial hemorrhages

Discussing subarachnoid hemorrhage in trauma patients

Recognizing common pitfalls in CT interpretation

Trauma imaging quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 3

Stroke imaging

Recognize an infarct on CT and know which findings may urgently alter patient management, as well as how to differentiate hemorrhage from contrast staining after thrombolysis.

5 lessons

26m

Stroke imaging intro

Identifying early CT findings of infarctions

Describing the evolution of infarcts

Explaining the effects of thrombolysis

Demonstrating the role of CT angiography and perfusion CT in the acute stroke patient

Stroke imaging quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 4

Nontraumatic hemorrhage

Learn where and how to look for subarachnoid hemorrhages and aneurysms on CT, and how to form a reasonable differential for the patient with nontraumatic brain hemorrhage.

6 lessons

34m

Nontraumatic hemorrhage intro

Recognizing subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT

Identifying common locations for aneurysms

Describing CT features of cavernomas and arteriovenous malformations

Diagnosing parenchymal hemorrhage

10m

Describing isolated intraventricular hemorrhage

Nontraumatic hemorrhage quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 5

Brain tumor imaging

Here, you’ll learn how to recognize extra-axial tumors as well as the three most common axial tumors. You’ll also cover typical CT findings for primary and metastatic brain tumors.

4 lessons

24m

Brain tumor imaging intro

Recognizing intra- versus extra-axial tumors on CT

11m

Distinguishing common adult extra-axial tumors

Recognizing intra-axial tumors

Brain tumor imaging quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 6

Seizures and epilepsy

Here, you’ll learn how to approach CT with patients experiencing their first seizure and know when it is appropriate to use MRI and contrast in the evaluation of such patients.

3 lessons

Seizures and epilepsy intro

Describing CT findings in patients with seizures

Explaining the role of CT and MRI in patients with seizures

Seizures and epilepsy quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 7

Metabolic disorders, infections, and demyelination

Learn how to recognize brain infections, MS, and other demyelinating diseases on CT. You’ll also learn how to identify metabolic disorders, poisoning, or hypoxia.

4 lessons

16m

Metabolic disorders, infections, and demyelination intro

Describing abnormalities in the basal ganglia

Identifying brain abscess and encephalitis

Describing the CT findings of demyelination

Metabolic disorders, infections, and demyelination quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 8

Skull abnormalities

In this chapter, you’ll cover typical CT findings for head fractures, arrested pneumatization, fibrous dysplasia, and hemangiomas of bone that may be mistaken for neoplasm.

4 lessons

14m

Skull abnormalities intro

Describing the typical appearance of skull fractures

Identifying benign disease and malignant bone lesions of the skull

Skull abnormalities quiz

Quiz

Brain CT Essentials outro

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Chapter 9

Bonus chapter (non-accredited)—Secrets of CT Physics

In this bonus content, you will learn to identify some common artifacts that appear on CT images so that you do not mistake them for pathology.

3 lessons

17m

Beam-hardening artifacts: don't trust everything you see on CT

How volume averaging on brain CT can kill your patients

Through thick and thin: optimizing CT slice thickness

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Teachers of this course

Alexander Mamourian, MD

Alex is a Professor Emeritus of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Teacher Profile

Medmastery

Nora Drenaline

Imaging

Claim your certificate

All members receive a certificate for completing this course. For Pro members, the certificate comes with 5 CME credits.

CME accredited

All our courses and workshops are fully CME accredited. We provide USA AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Pro members can download their CME certificates upon successful completion of activities. Want to transfer these credits to your national system? No problem.

Learn how this works

CME at its best

Award-winning teaching method

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2013
Highly commended by the British Medical Association
Awarded in the digital category of the BMA Book Awards—London 2017
Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2017
Internationally accredited
CME accredited in the USA and EU with mutual recognition agreements in most other countries.
Trusted institutional partner
Used by residency programs and universities around the world to train their clinicians and students.
Top-rated by our learners
Rated excellent by hundreds of users on Trustpilot, an independent reviewing platform.

What’s in it for you?

Master the most important skills

Learn any skill in under 5 hours

Save time and money

After completing this course, you will be able to

What's inside

The basics

Trauma imaging

Stroke imaging

Nontraumatic hemorrhage

Brain tumor imaging

Seizures and epilepsy

Metabolic disorders, infections, and demyelination

Skull abnormalities

Bonus chapter (non-accredited)—Secrets of CT Physics

Claim your certificate

CME accredited

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal

Highly commended by the British Medical Association

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal

Internationally accredited

Trusted institutional partner

Top-rated by our learners