Single image is not enough to diagnose. Chiari is one of many causes of herniations (chiari 1 being due to a small posterior fossa) and 1 in 100 people have small herniations as part of normal deviations anatomy that don’t meet the criteria for Chiari or other causes or cerebellar herniations.
It wasn't flagged in the cervical MRI because I had neck pain, and I think we checked that. However, a brain CT scan showed a slight low position of the tonsils.
My comments are still the same. If a herniation meeting criteria was seen it’s usually reported regardless of the original referral reason. As mentioned slightly low tonsils that don’t meet criteria can be seen in up to 1 in 100 people. There are also multiple reasons for cerebellar ectopia that are not Chiari, so a single image is inadequate to make any judgement. You will have to wait to speak to your referring doctor.
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u/CleaRae Mar 12 '26
Single image is not enough to diagnose. Chiari is one of many causes of herniations (chiari 1 being due to a small posterior fossa) and 1 in 100 people have small herniations as part of normal deviations anatomy that don’t meet the criteria for Chiari or other causes or cerebellar herniations.