General Medical Information

Vernet Syndrome

Frank E. Lucente
Samir Shah
Roger Kula

Vernet syndrome, a lesion at the jugular foramen, can be a result of a vascular lesion, a tumor, aneurysm of the internal carotid artery, thrombosis of the jugular bulb, tuberculosis, or syphilis. The most common cause, however, is basilar skull fracture, which produces ipsilateral paralysis of cranial nerves IX, X, and XI. Villaret syndrome is a lesion of the retropharyngeal or retroparotid space that causes ipsilateral paralysis of cranial nerves IX, X, and XI and of cervical sympathetic fibers, producing Horner syndrome.