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A 28-year-old female asked:

I had a brain mri stating cerebral tonsils terminating 5mm below foramen magnum. c spine mri says no chiari malformation. is it chiari or not?

1 doctor answer3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Michael Gabor
Diagnostic Radiology 35 years experience
5mm: is a borderline measurement. There is some variability between investigators regarding the precise range of normal. In the abscence of any other findings, most authors would consider 5mm at the upper limit of normal. Some would term this "benign tonsillar ectopia", an incidental and asymptomatic finding. Some would consider 5mm indeterminate.As an isolated finding, it is not diagnostic of chiari
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Last updated Nov 28, 2017

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