Images in Clinical Medicine
A Head Shot
N Engl J Med 2011; 365:2519December 29, 2011
- Article
Cranial computed tomographic imaging revealed a metal foreign body, 1.2×0.7 cm, at the left edge of the foramen magnum in this 85-year-old man (Panel A, scout image; Panel B, axial image). There was no clinical or radiographic evidence of neural damage. The patient revealed that at the age of 3 he had been accidentally shot with a pistol by his older brother. The bullet had struck him just inferior to the nose, and he had lost consciousness for several hours, recovering completely without specific therapy. In his adult life, he had achieved professional success as an engineer, even winning the Soviet State Prize for his accomplishments. We reassured him that no intervention was needed but warned him that magnetic resonance imaging was contraindicated in the future.
Maya S. Safarova, M.D.
Marat V. Ezhov, M.D., Ph.D.
Cardiology Research Center, Moscow, Russia
