RESUMEN
Objective: to describe the anatomy and the operative approaches to the jugular foramen. Method: twenty dry heads and four formalin-fixed adults heads injected with silicon were examined. We performed measurements of the jugular foramen in the dry heads and the operative approaches in a stepwise manner in the formalin - fixed heads. Results: the jugular foramen is divided into three compartments: the petrosal (inferior petrosal sinus), the intrajugular (glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accesory nerves) and the sigmoid (sigmoid sinus) parts. In 65 por ciento dry heads the right foramen was larger than the left, in 5 por ciento equal, and in 30 por ciento smaller than the left. The length of the jugular foramen was 14.29mm from the endocranial view and 15,10mm from the exocranial view. The approaches to the jugular foramen are the retrosigmoid, the far-lateral paracondylar, the transmastoid infralabyrinthine and the preauricular infratemporal. Conclusion: the operative approaches to the jugular foramen can be categorized into three groups: 1)a posterior group directed through the posterior cranial fossa, 2) a lateral group directed through the mastoid bone, and 3) an anterior group directed through the tympanic bone