Calvarial Lesions and Pseudolesions: Differential Diagnosis and Pictorial Review of Pathologic Entities Presenting with Focal Calvarial Abnormalities

Calvarial lesions are often discovered incidentally through various imaging studies of the head. While benign lesions are more common in this location, it is very important to detect and accurately identify malignant primary and metastatic lesions of the calvaria. This article will review the anatomy and development of the calvaria and the differential diagnosis of both a solitary calvarial lesion and multiple calvarial lesions. We will present examples of these entities and discuss the major imaging features and various associated clinical presentations.

Learning Objective: List the common solitary and multiple calvarial lesions and pseudolesions and describe their typical imaging features and clinical presentations.