3 research outputs found
An anatomical study of the pterygoalar bar and the pterygoalar foramen
The paper presents anatomical considerations on the pterygoalar bar and the
pterygoalar foramen of the human skull. The pterygoalar bar is a bony bridge
that stretches between the lateral pterygoid lamina and the greater wing of the
sphenoid bone, while the space under this bar is termed the pterygoalar foramen.
These structures were noted in 5 out of 70 investigated skulls. The length
of the pterygoalar bar ranged from 4 to 8 mm, while the diameter of the pterygoalar
foramen ranged from 7 to 11 mm. The presence of the pterygoalar bar is
clinically important because it may disturb access to the foramen ovale during
anaesthesia of the trigeminal nerve
An atypical position of the foramen ovale
Visual inspection of a dry adult human skull revealed absence of a typical foramen
ovale on the left side of the cranial base. The region of the foramen ovale
was covered by an osseous lamina, which was continuous with the lateral pterygoid
plate and thus formed a wall of an apparent canal, which opened on the
lateral side of the pterygoid process. This canal is referred to as an oval canal
(canalis ovalis), instead of the foramen ovale. It runs superiorly, medially from
the infratemporal fossa, and opens into the middle cranial fossa. The altered
osseous morphology of this basicranial region may affect the course of the neurovascular
structures which pass through the foramen ovale. As a consequence,
clinical symptoms could occur, including paresthesiae of the inner aspect of the
cheek and compression and neuralgia of the mandibular nerve or its branches