ABSTRACT
Objective To study the regional anatomy of the cavernous sinus for skull base surgery.Methods Continuous thin sections on coronary plane were performed with freezing milling technique on an head specimen from March 2008 to November 2011.After segmenting,labeling and extracting in a seraial sections,we finished the three dimensional reconstruction of the cavernous sinus.Results Three hundred and ninety thin coronary sections were obtained.The related structures were described in six typical sections.The cavernous sinuses were located on each side of the sphenoid sella.The sinus connects to the superior orbital fissure below and lateral to the anterior clinoid process,opens into the basilar sinuses lateral to the dorsum sellae.The four main spaces within the sinus,identified by their relation to the carotid artery,were the medial,the anteroinferior,the posterosuperior compartments and the lateral space.The four spaces were located differnently and communicate with each others in three dimensional images.Conclusion Combination of coronary section anatomy and three dimensional reconstruction can display the anatomical characters of the s cavernous sinus.The 3D models are video films that continuously and dynamically display anatomic structures in 3D space at different velocities.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the morphology and relationships with the adjacent structures in the pineal region on the thin sections and to provide anatomic data for imaging diagnosis and surgical treatment of diseases in this region. Methods By CT and MRI examination, one normal head specimen was selected for this study. Using the computerized freezing milling technique, the specimen was sliced from anterior to posterior. The in vivo MR images were obtained from ten normal Chinese male adult volunteers using a 3.0 T GE scanner. The base lines of the sectioning and the MR scan were perpendicular to the AC-PC line. Then primary sections were contrasted with the corresponding MR images. Results By the appearance of the pineal peduncle and the disappearance of the pineal gland, the pineal region could be divided into three parts from anterior to posterior, and the shape changed from an inverted triangle to a trapezoid and a triangle gradually. The first interspace was getting wider in the anterior and middle parts of the pineal region, while in the posterior part of the pineal region, it was getting narrower and disappeared finally. From anterior to posterior, the bilateral internal cerebral veins were always in the midline of the pineal region and descended gradually.Conclusion By the computerized freezing milling technique, the anatomic details and adjacent relationships of the pineal region could be exhibited clearly in the thin serial sections, which could help the imaging diagnosis and surgical treatments for minute diseases in this region.