Anatomical Morphology and Related Angles of Foramen Ovale: A Three-dimensional Computed Tomography Reconstruction

Abstract

This study aimed to report the three-dimensional reconstruction of the foramen ovale (FO) based on computed tomography angiography and describe its shape and related angles. A retrospective analysis of 199 adult patients who were hospitalised at the Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China, from January to December 2020 was conducted. The original DICOM files of patients' computed tomography scans were processed by 3D Slicer software to reconstruct the three-dimensional skull. The morphological characteristics of the FO on both sides were analysed. Their size, related angles and volumes, and the differences between the two sides and gender were compared. A total of 398 FO from 199 patients were studied. The most frequent shape of the FO was oval, accounting for 54.27%. The mean lengths of the right and the left sides were 5.40±1.51 and 5.10±1.18mm, respectively. The mean width on the right and left sides was 3.23±1.16 and 3.33±1.19 mm, respectively. The FO is most commonly oval in shape. Clinicians may use the anatomical characteristics regarding the size and shape of the FO for diagnosis and treatment. Key Words: Foramen ovale, Computed tomographic angiography, 3-Dimensional anatomy.