Skull base asymmetry foramina

INTRODUCTION: Apert and Crouzon syndromes are among the most common craniosynostosis syndromes found in children. Mutations have been found in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene in both syndromes. Although different mutations, the common mutated receptor raises suspicion for its involvement in the cranial morphogenesis found in these syndromic craniosynostosis patients. The shapes of these children's skulls have long been thought to be the result of early fusion of the synchondroses...

Ontogenetic studies are crucial for understanding functional morphology, origin and adaptation of skulls in vertebrates. However, very few studies have so far released complete embryonic series focusing on skull embryonic development in species showing diverse and extreme cranial morphologies such as snakes. The wide distribution and unique reproductive and ecological behaviors of venomous vipers, including the heterogeneity in breeding and egg incubation periods in oviparous species, make this group an excellent new model for studying the diversity of skull developmental processes in snakes...

BACKGROUND: As the skull base has a complex anatomy, we underline the importance of anomalies for side asymmetry. It is useful to investigate relationship between anatomical structures for the surgical procedure orientations. Dural adherence, enlarged superior petrosal sinus, influence of neural crest cells, and cranial base ossification are among the factors in morphometric growth on skull base. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-five fetuses of an estimated gestational age ranging from 17 to 34 weeks were studied in the Anatomy Laboratory of Mersin University Medical Faculty...

Perineural spread adenoid cystic carcinoma can alter the dimension of foramina and canals of the skull base. The objective of this study was to determine the range of normal variation of the foramina and canals of both hemicranium. We analyzed 200 individuals with no alterations of the skull base in a retrospective manner using high-resolution computed tomography. We measured the short and long axis diameters of the foramen rotundum (FR), foramen ovale (FO), stylomastoid foramen (SMF), pterygoid canal (PTC), internal auditory canal (IAC), and the facial nerve canal in its labyrinthine portion (LPFC) to calculate the area in each hemicranium, compare them and obtain the normal range of asymmetry...

Hemimegalencephaly (HME) is a rare congenital malformation of the brain, grossly characterized by enlargement and overdevelopment of one cerebral hemisphere. We describe a 16-month-old patient with facial asymmetry caused by congenital infiltrating lipomatosis of the face (CILF) associated with ipsilateral HME. Although HME has been described as part of different syndromic diseases, the association of HME with CILF has been rarely reported. Our case and literature review suggest that when the diagnosis of CILF is suspected or established, the possible presence of associated HME has to be considered and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) must be performed even in absence of neurological features, not always present in early stages...

PURPOSE: Contrast-enhanced MRI is the mainstay for detecting pathology in the skull base foramina and nerve canals, through demonstration of abnormal enhancement. When MRI is contraindicated, or unable to differentiate tumor from non-neoplastic pathology, high-resolution skull base CT is indicated to assess for nerve canal or foramen widening, which is currently determined subjectively. The purpose of this study is to provide objective CT criteria that may help distinguish between normal asymmetry and pathologic nerve canal or foramen widening...

The aim of the study was the retrospective morphological analysis of selected structures of the middle cranial fossa, i.e. foramen ovale and superior orbital fissure, in relation to the external head and cranial diameters in adults from the Lublin region (Poland). The study was performed on data collected during computed tomography examinations of 60 individuals (age 20-30 years), without any cranial or brain abnormalities. Based on the post-processing reconstructions, 3-dimensional views of the skull and head were obtained...

Even in the absence of malformation or skull base asymmetry, the mandible may be physiologically asymmetric and this remains a major challenge in the orthodontic treatment. The mandible is a bone formed by a primary subunit, i.e., the neural part, with different functional secondary subunits, so we suggest that in a normal mandible the asymmetry was caused by the secondary functional subunit and the neural part is nearly symmetric. Eighty-three dry human mandible samples were studied. The measurements of the size of the mandible (corpus, ramus, mandible notch, condylar process, the angle of the mandible) and the neural subunit (the mandibular canal and the position of the mental and mandibular foramina) were measured bilaterally...

The aim of the present study was to report dimensional changes in the lateral part of the prenatal human skull during the second trimester. The sample comprised 37 fetuses obtained in connection with requested autopsy. Gestational ages (GA) were available for 27 fetuses, ranging from 13 to 24 weeks. Crown-rump lengths (CRL) of 23 fetuses ranged from 78 to 228 mm. For 21 fetuses both CRL and GA were available. After excision of the midsagittal segment of the skulls by two paramedian sections from the frontal bone to the foramen magnum through the optic foramina, an incision was made through the middle of the occipital squama, bisecting the skull...

PURPOSE: To evaluate by means of high-resolution CT the anatomic variations of the middle cranial fossa foramen. METHODS: We examined 123 CT studies of the temporal bone in patients with no evidence of disease that might alter foraminal anatomy. A checklist of known variants and suspected structures was used as each case was systematically examined for the presence or absence of these foramina; variations in size, shape, and location; and relationship of structures to each other...

The foramen of Vesalius is a small, variable but consistently symmetrical structure located anteromedial to the foramen ovale and lateral to the foramen rotundum and vidian canal. It transmits an emissary vein through which the cavernous sinus and pterygoid plexus communicate. Fifty high-resolution CT scans of the skull base and two three-dimensional (Cemax) reconstructions were reviewed to determine criteria for defining the normal appearance of the foramen of Vesalius. Three normal types were classified: (1) a well-formed foramen, 1-2 mm in size (n = 32); (2) lack of visualization of the foramen (n = 11); and (3) partial assimilation of the foramen with the foramen ovale (n = 7)...