Emissary Spehnoidal Foramen: Rare but not to ignore.

Background: Emissary sphenoidal foramen also named as foramen Vesalius is a rare opening found near the scaphoid fossa and located exteriorly on the base of skull, antero-medial to foramen ovale, spinosum and carotid canal whereas postero-medial to the foramen rotundum. Methods: A total 28 dry adult human skulls were observed & studied for the presence of emissary sphenoidal foramen (ESF) in the department of anatomy at Desh Bhagat Dental College & Hospital, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab.Unilateral and bilateral presence of ESF were noted. Results: Total 56 sides of 28 skulls were studied and it was found that 08 ESF were observed on right side and 02 on left side with an incidence of 28.5% and 7.1% respectively. Conclusion: Present study highlights the incidence of ESF and describes its neuro-anatomic importance.

Study of variation in atypical foramina of dry human skull.

Foramina or openings in the skull are very important as they allow passage of important structures likes nerves and blood vessels through them. Various people have studied variations in foramina as these variants have been found to be related to many disease states, which can be either acquired or inherited. Out of various skull foramina, we studied three atypical foramina named lacrimal, emissary sphenoidal & parietal in 103 dried human skulls. We looked for their presence unilaterally/bilaterally, their numbers, dimension and comparison bilaterally. Lacrimal foramen was absent bilaterally in 41% of the skulls while present unilaterally in 29% with an average size of 0.86 mm. Emissary sphenoidal foramen was absent bilaterally in 49%of the skulls, present unilaterally in 20% with an average size of 0.87 mm. When compared bilaterally 11% of the skulls showed difference of more than 0.5mm in emissary sphenoidal foramen while it was multiple in 2% of the skulls studied. Parietal foramen was absent bilaterally in 20% of the skulls while it was present unilaterally in 29% with an average size of 0.91 mm. When compared bilaterally 15% of the skulls had difference of more than 0.5mm.The foramen studied showed variation in different parameters observed which might be due to genetic, nutritional, environmental differences or some disease conditions. Knowledge of presence and variation in its anatomical parameter can be crucial for surgeons and anesthetists.