Foramen Vesalii
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Yvette Mellam had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Yvette Mellam's current disclosures- foramen venosum
- foramen of Vesalius
- canaliculus sphenoidalis
- sphenoidal emissary foramen
The foramen Vesalii (plural: foramina Vesalii), also known as the foramen of Vesalius, sphenoidal emissary foramen, foramen venosus or canaliculus sphenoidal, is a tiny variably present foramen in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone.
Its incidence varies markedly. A study of 100 cadaveric skulls found it present in only 17% and always single 2 whereas a study of only 34 cadaveric skulls found it more common on the right and bilateral in 23% and unilateral in 20% 3.
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Gross anatomy
The foramen is located on the greater wing of the sphenoid bone
anteromedial to the foramen ovale
lateral to the foramen rotundum and Vidian canal
Related pathology
If an emissary vein is present it serves as an extracranial-intracranial connection, connecting the infratemporal fossa (pterygoid venous plexus) and the middle cranial fossa (cavernous sinus). Thus there is a risk of extracranial infected thrombus reaching the cavernous sinus.
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History and etymology
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) has been called "the founder of modern anatomy", and amongst extensive investigations and writings he published the first extensive study of the sphenoid bone 4.
References
- 1. Susan Standring. Gray's Anatomy. ISBN: 9780702052309
- 2. Reymond J, Charuta A, Wysocki J. The morphology and morphometry of the foramina of the greater wing of the human sphenoid bone. Folia morphologica. 64 (3): 188-93. Pubmed
- 3. Gupta N, Ray B, Ghosh S. Anatomic characteristics of foramen vesalius. Kathmandu University medical journal (KUMJ). 3 (2): 155-8. Pubmed
- 4. Charles Donald O'Malley. Andreas Vesalius of Brussels, 1514-1564. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HCA6wGaU8PUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
- 5. Lanzieri CF, Duchesneau PM, Rosenbloom SA, Smith AS, Rosenbaum AE. The significance of asymmetry of the foramen of Vesalius. (1988) AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology. 9 (6): 1201-4. Pubmed
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