A coronary-sectional anatomy and three dimensional reconstruction study of the cavernous sinus / 中华显微外科杂志

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.