Air Cells of Petrous Portion of Temporal Bone in a Child Four and a Half Years Old: A Study Based on Wax Plate Reconstructions

Abstract

The structure of the mastoid portion of the temporal bone has been thoroughly studied, and the nature and extent of its pneumatization are now well understood. The form, arrangement and relationships of the cells in the petrous portion have not been described with equal thoroughness. The present study finds its justification in the current demand for reliable information concerning the anatomy of this important subdivision of the temporal bone.Siebenmann1 made the first painstaking study of the air cells of the temporal bone; by means of corrosion preparations he demonstrated the shape and connections of the mastoid cells and of certain lesser pneumatic spaces situated beyond the mastoid region, stating that they penetrate everywhere with the exception of the squama and the anterior wall of the external auditory meatus. Illustrations of the corrosion specimens (see also Bezold and Siebenmann2) are still being copied in textbooks of anatomy and otology.

The importance of petrous apex and peri-carotid pneumatisation in subtotal petrosectomy and blind sac closure: a radiological study

“…Anson et al . reported a case of petrous temporal bone pneumatisation in a child aged four and a half years, which appears to be the earliest that this has been noted to occur in the literature 12 …”

Structural properties of the mastoid using image analysis and visualization

“…As a side note, a 3D printed representation of the mastoid air cells based on contours drawn from histological sections over an entire temporal bone as early as in 1938, see [4] for more details on how it was produced.…”