In vivo 3D analysis of the adipose tissue in the orbital apex and the compartments of the parasellar region

Abstract

As tissue dissections carried out on formaldehyde-fixed anatomical specimens demonstrate, the parasellar region (PSR), traditionally referred to as the cavernous sinus, is composed of three distinct compartments: orbital, pterygopalatine, and lateral sellar. The aim of our study was to identify and measure these compartments in the living and to describe the topography of their adipose body tissues. For this purpose data sets of 35 patients, who had undergone thin-section multislice computed tomography (CT), were examined using 3D-reconstruction software. The pterygopalatine and orbital compartments of the PSR could be identified in the images by their adipose bodies. We provide more exacting measurements of their size than have been presented in earlier studies. Furthermore, we include data about the uni- and bilateral presence of the single compartments and analyze the topography of the adipose tissue bodies in the orbital apex region. Our quantitative data and topographical descriptions confirm the compartmentalization concept of the PSR, allow for correct interpretation of CT scans of the orbital apex and anterior PSR, and provide baseline information for individual planning of surgical and radiological interventions.

Clinical Anatomy of the Extradural Neural Axis Compartment: A Literature Review

“…Parkinson 1 , 2 appealed for the use of the term “lateral sellar compartment” (LSC) instead. Because the latter is more true to the anatomy of the region, the LSC has gained support in the reported data and has been used henceforth in the present report to describe the “cavernous sinus.” 6 , 21 , 26 , 30 At the posterior margin of the LSC resides Meckel's cave, an evagination of the meningeal dura that envelops the trigeminal ganglion and the proximal divisions of CN V. This protruding dural pouch is associated with the EDNAC but is not strictly an EDNAC component. 31 , 32 François et al 10 also reported that the LSC contains less adipose tissue compared with the other regions of the EDNAC, such as the orbit or spine.…”

“…6 This intermediate region of the EDNAC represents an adipose corridor between the meningeal and periorbital dura, which transmits the lacrimal and frontal branches of the ophthalmic nerve (CN V 1 ), trochlear nerve (CN IV), and superior ophthalmic vein and fat and orbital veins from the orbit to the lateral sellar compartment. 3,6,21,22 The central structure of the LSOJ is the annular tendon of Zinn from which the 4 rectus muscles originate. 6 Liugan et al 23 in 2017 also provided evidence that an adipose space surrounds the ophthalmic artery within the optic canal.…”

The Values of Thin Sections and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction in the Sellar Region

“…One method can maintain the specimen intact whereas the other cannot. The traditional freezing milling technique with high-thickness and much saw path loss is not satisfactory for modern imagining, which has rapidly developed (17). The plastination technique is used to make section specimen.…”