Weerakkody Y, El-Feky M, Ranchod A, et al. Colpocephaly. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 30 Sep 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-9590
Colpocephaly is a descriptive term for a disproportionate prominence of the occipital horns of the lateral ventricles. It can result from a wide range of congenital insults.
Radiologically, diagnosis of colpocephaly becomes more likely when the ratio of the posterior horn to anterior horn of lateral ventricle width (P/A ratio) is ≥3 2.
The P/A ratio also helps to distinguish colpocephaly from normal pressure hydrocephalus, which is an important differential diagnosis.
History and etymology
Colpocephaly was initially reported by American psychiatrist Clemens E Benda (1898-1975) 4in 1941 2.
The term comes from the Greek: kolpos (hollow) and kephalos (head); and it was coined by the neurologist Paul Ivan Yakovlev and the neuropathologist Richard C Wadsworth in 1946 1,3.
3. Yakovlev P & Wadsworth R. Schizencephalies; a Study of the Congenital Clefts in the Cerebral Mantle; Clefts with Fused Lips. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 1946;5(2):116-30. doi:10.1097/00005072-194604000-00003 - Pubmed
4. Stutte H. Clemens E. Benda (1898-1975). Acta Paedopsychiatr. 1976;42(3):131-2. - Pubmed