A morphological and morphometric study of jugular foramen in dry skulls with its clinical implications

Abstract

Objective:Jugular foramen of human skull is one of the most interesting foramina. It is a complex bony canal, numerous vital structures, including nerves and vessels are transmitted through it. Most of the intracranial and extra cranial lesions of posterior cranial fossa might affect the structures in jugular foramen in addition to intrinsic abnormalities. As the neurosurgeons have become courageous in approaching this area, so there is a need to become familiar with this area. Hence, the present study was done to examine the anatomy of jugular foramen, including its morphological features and dimensions.Materials and Methods:The study was carried out on 50 dried skulls. 100 jugular foramina were studied on both right and left side of skulls. The length, width of jugular foramen and width and depth of jugular fossa were measured using vernier calipers. Presence of dome, complete and incomplete septation was also looked for.Results:The mean right and left anteroposterior diameter, latero-medial diameter, area, jugular fossa width, depth in our study was 11.22, 16.52, 187.34, 6.83, 11.58 mm and 9.52, 16.02, 153.2, 5.69, 11.13 mm. Dome was present in jugular foramen in 74% on the right side and 58% on the left side. Complete septation in jugular foramen is seen in 44% on the right side and 42% on the left side.Conclusion:This study will help the neurosurgeons while doing surgery in this region.

Variant Anatomy of the Jugular Foramen: An Osteological Study

“…The mean depth of jugular foramen dome is comparable to the results of Singla et al [17] who studied skulls in an Indian population and obtained 11.11 mm and 11.04 mm for the right and left JF respectively. Gupta et al [18] reported a depth of 11.75 mm for the right JF and 11.13 mm for the left JF, these too correspond to the present study. The ranges of the depths do not exhibit such a wide population difference compared to other JF dimensions.…”

“…[20] The population differences are genetic or ethnic based. [10,18,21] Jugular dome suggests a prominent superior jugular bulb which should not be mistaken for a tumor or a mass during radiography. Where the dome is so high that it reaches above the internal acoustic meatus, it is indicative of a high riding jugular bulb.…”

Morphometric Study of Five Constant Skull Base Foramina in the Muisca Population of the Tibanica Anthropological Collection of the Universidad de Los Andes

“…Morphometric studies of skull base foramina are adequate tools for evaluating variability of these anatomic characteristics within groups and comparing said features between populations (Osunwoke et al, 2010;Khan et al;Osunwoke et al, 2012;Gupta et al;Kumar et al;Vidya et al). The importance of characterizing these anatomical features in different populations not only lies within the clinical and pathological realms, as their morphology and morphometry sometimes represent decisive features of the outcome of certain diseases and procedures, but also provides useful information of groups as ethnicities, their genetic profile and the environmental factors they are probably exposed to (Roberts et al;Bhatia et al, 2005).…”

“…From an inferior view, there are ten skull base foramina conventionally described as constant: greater palatine, lesser palatine, lacerum, ovale, spinosum, external opening of the carotid canal, stylomastoid, jugular, mastoid, and external opening of the hypoglossal canal (Drake et al). These structures can be used to establish differences between different populations and ethnic groups, due to the fact that both their morphology and morphometry are particularly variable (Osunwoke et al, 2010;Khan et al, 2012;Osunwoke et al, 2012;Gupta et al, 2014;Kumar et al, 2015;Vidya et al, 2015).…”

“…Singh et al, 2011;Khan et al;Osunwoke et al, 2012;Gupta et al;Kumar et al;Raval et al, 2015;Vidya et al).…”