MORPHOMETRIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY ON FORAMEN OVALE

Back Ground: Foramen ovalee is an important foramen of the middle cranial fossa. Foramen ovalee is situated in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone, posterior to the foramen rotundum and lateral to the lingula and posterior end of the carotid groove. Through the foramen ovale the mandibular nerve, accessory meningeal artery and lesser petrossal nerve are passing through it. The shape of foramen ovale is ovale in shape as compare to other foramina of the skull, its shape and size is quite variable. Meterials and Methods: A total 250 skulls were used for this study. The skulls were collected with I MBBS student from different medical colleges in south India. Skulls in poor conditions or skulls with partly damaged surroundings of the foramen ovalee were not considered. Maximum length and width of foramen ovalee was measured. Variation in right and left side and sex difference in length and width were calculated, the variations in shape also recorded. Results: The mean value of length of left foramen ovale is 8.5+1.32mm and right was 8.9+1.67mm. In female it was 8.7+1.67mm and male was 8.4+1.71mm. The mean value of width of left foramen ovale is 3.7+1.03mm and right was 3.9+0.98mm. In female it was 3.8+0.92mm and male was 3.7+1.02mm.The shape of foramen ovale was ovale in 69% of skulls, almond in 29% of skulls and round was 2% of skulls. Conclusion: The present study conclude that there is significant difference between sizes of right and left side foramen ovale and found that between male and female foramen ovale sizes also not shown any significance difference. Foramen ovale has practical significance to both neurosurgical and functional cranial neuroanatomy as it provides transcutaneous approaches to the skull base especially in cases of trigeminal neuralgia, as the Gasserion ganglion can be approached through it.