Encephalomalacia, also known as cerebromalacia, is a softening of brain tissue that results from ischemia or inflammation, most typically due to vascular insufficiency or degenerative changes.
On Brain CT, it appears as a darkened area and can be confused for cerebral edema due to acute ischemia (i.e stroke).
Unlike edema, encephalomalacia on CT is often accompanied by:
--- well defined, circular vacuoles
--- presence of good gray-white matter differentiation in surrounding areas
--- a lack of significant effacement or lost of sulcus definition
