In 12 patients with vascular or tumorous lesions of the skull base, the collateral flow capacity was examined by transcranial Doppler sonography and carotid compression studies. In four patients no cross flow mechanism was found, in two patients the test remained unclear, and in six patients the examination suggested a good collateral flow capacity. However, for this application of Doppler sonography no borderlines have yet been defined and thus interpretation is difficult. Intraoperative Doppler sonography was used in five patients and proved to be helpful for localisation of the internal carotid artery within skull base tumors.