Endoscopic Transnasal versus Open Transcranial Internal Carotid Artery Anatomy: A Uniform Application of Nomenclature

Abstract

Introduction: As transnasal endoscopic surgery evolves, neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists are approaching complex lesions of the skull base from a nontraditional anatomic perspective, resulting in varied anatomic descriptions including the introduction of new terminology, such as paraclival internal carotid artery (ICA). Descriptions of ICA segments identified from an endoscopic perspective have spawned nomenclature that has yet to be applied uniformly across disciplines. The goal of this study was to determine if the established terminology of ICA segments from the open transcranial perspective is applicable to the endoscopic perspective.