Fig 3.

Axial source images of the 3D-CISS sequence at 1.5T (A) and 3T (B) of a patient with trigeminal neuralgia on the left side showing a close relationship (arrowhead) between the upper part of the trigeminal nerve (trigeminal neuralgia, long arrow) and a larger vein (arrow with dot) and a smaller artery (short arrow) on the left side at some distance from the REZ (asterisk, shown on the contralateral side). The proximate adjacency between the trigeminal neuralgia and the small artery is visible at both field strengths. However, the direct contact between the trigeminal neuralgia and vein is questionable at 1.5T (arrowhead in A), whereas the direct nerve-vein contact is clearly visible at 3T (arrowhead in B), confirming the diagnosis of NVC.