Abstract
Given the rapid development of neurology, neurosurgery, otolaryngology and forensic medicine, there is a need for new, updated morphological data of internal base of the skull, in particular middle cranial fossa. This is due to the complex bone architecture of the middle cranial fossa and the location of important neurovascular structures in this area, which are important for surgeons not to damage during the operation. In this regard, it is necessary to detail the features of the structure, shape, position and size of the middle cranial fossa. The aim of the work is a detailed morphological and craniometric study of the linear parameters of the middle cranial fossa of a mature person depending on gender. The study was performed by studying 50 CT scans of the head and 50 bone preparations of the skulls of men and women of mature age. In our study, a detailed morphometry of longitudinal and latitudinal parameters at different levels of the middle cranial fossa, as well as determining its depth and area. Morphometry of linear parameters of the studied area of the skull showed the presence of a range of variability in length, width and depth depending on the sex of a mature person. The study showed an increase in the longitudinal size of the middle cranial fossa from the lateral to the medial; the transverse dimensions of the middle cranial fossa take on smaller values in its anterior parts and gradually increase to the posterior ones, which in our opinion is due to the characteristic shape of this part of the skull. The performed morphometry of longitudinal and latitudinal parameters, depth and area of the middle cranial fossa showed that these parameters are predominant in males in contrast to females, which is due to the slightly increased head size in this group of adult’s people. Depth of the middle cranial fossa has the smallest range of variability depending on sex. It is established that right-handed asymmetry is more often observed in mature people of both sexes. Rarely, left-sided asymmetry is determined due to an increase in the length of the lateral sections in mature men. The data obtained make it possible to expand knowledge about the structure of the middle cranial fossa and can serve as a basis for further research.
Highlights
It is known that the middle cranial fossa (MCF) is one of the most complex parts of the inner base of the skull (IBS), which is limited in front by the posterior edge of the lesser wings of the sphenoid bone, behind - the back of the Sella turcica (ST) and petrous part of the temporal bone [6, 25]
It is determined that there is a certain range of longitudinal parameters of the MCF in mature age (Table 1)
W hen determining the parameters of the length of both sexes of mature age, in addition to the above, we found the predominance of the size of the right half over the left
Summary
It is known that the middle cranial fossa (MCF) is one of the most complex parts of the inner base of the skull (IBS), which is limited in front by the posterior edge of the lesser wings of the sphenoid bone, behind - the back of the Sella turcica (ST) and petrous part of the temporal bone [6, 25].In surgical practice, access to the MCF and the base of the skull is often performed in order to treat a large number of pathological processes [2, 4, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24]. Given the rapid development of neurology, neurosurgery, otolaryngology and forensic medicine, there is a need for new, updated morphological data of IBS, in particular MCF [5, 10, 11, 17, 20, 22]. This is due to the complex bone architecture of the MCF and the location of important vascular and nervous structures in this area, which are extremely important for surgeons not to damage during surgery. It is necessary to modern detail of the structure, shape, position and size of the MCF, which will reduce the number or avoid complications during and after surgery within this area of IBS [8, 9, 19, 21, 23, 26].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
