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Case Presentation A 60-year-old man presents to his general practitioner after experiencing worsening headaches that had begun to interfere with everyday life. The patient told his doctor that he was struggling to remember simple things and was worried about his declining memory and inability to concentrate. He told the general practitioner that his family was also getting frustrated with him, telling him that he "spaces out and acts oddly" more often. He told his doctor that he did not notice this "spacing out" behavior himself but had "felt clumsier" over the past month. He was referred for a brain MRI scan to investigate the cause of his symptoms and, based on the MRI findings, referred to a neurosurgeon who performed a biopsy of the abnormality in his brain. Q1. What other imaging modality is commonly used to examine the head? Q2. Given 3 reasons why MRI was used for this patient? Q3. What risks must be considered by a doctor before referring a patient for this diagnostic test? Q4. For this patient: a) How would you describe this abnormality over the phone to the treating doctor? Consider where it is, including which side, and what anatomical structures are involved. b) What do you think is the suspected diagnosis? c) How do the imaging findings support this?

          Case Presentation
A 60-year-old man presents to his general practitioner after experiencing worsening headaches that had begun to interfere with everyday life.
The patient told his doctor that he was struggling to remember simple things and was worried about his declining memory and inability to concentrate. He told the general practitioner that his family was also getting frustrated with him, telling him that he "spaces out and acts oddly" more often.
He told his doctor that he did not notice this "spacing out" behavior himself but had "felt clumsier" over the past month.
He was referred for a brain MRI scan to investigate the cause of his symptoms and, based on the MRI findings, referred to a neurosurgeon who performed a biopsy of the abnormality in his brain.
Q1. What other imaging modality is commonly used to examine the head?
Q2. Given 3 reasons why MRI was used for this patient?
Q3. What risks must be considered by a doctor before referring a patient for this diagnostic test?
Q4. For this patient:
a) How would you describe this abnormality over the phone to the treating doctor? Consider where it is, including which side, and what anatomical structures are involved.
b) What do you think is the suspected diagnosis?
c) How do the imaging findings support this?

Added by Susan G.

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