Images Dated 10th December 1999

Coloured MRI brain scan of Sturge-Weber syndrome

Sturge-Weber syndrome. Coloured magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of a brain (orange/blue) with Sturge-Weber syndrome. The brain is seen in horiz- ontal (axial) section, with the front of the brain at top. The brain's fluid-filled ventricles (upper centre & lower right) are green. Part of the brain has become calcified (blue, lower left). Other symptoms include angioma tumours in the choroid of the eye and the meninges membranes that cover the brain, as well as port-wine nevi on the face and glaucoma of the eye. People with this congenital disorder are mentally handicapped and may suffer from epileptic seizures. MRI uses radio waves and a powerful magnet to produce slice body images

© MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY