Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Identification of the posterior deep temporal nerve groove and canal, and its relationship to basicranial angle

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Anatomical Science International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The posterior deep temporal nerve (PDTN) groove accommodates the posterior deep temporal nerve and is infrequently described. This area is important for some clinical procedures including mandibular nerve blockade. This study assesses the prevalence and morphological variations of the PDTN groove in a single population, investigating its relationship with basicranial angle to assess predictive value for the existence of this feature. The infratemporal regions of 101 contemporary Sinhalese Sri Lankan skulls were examined bilaterally and ordinally scored for PDTN groove morphology (six point scale); 11 random skulls were radiographed and basicranial angles measured. Descriptive statistics and significance testing (P < 0.05) were used for analysis, including symmetry (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test), sex differences (Mann and Whitney U test), and between basicranial angle and PDTN morphology (Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient). Ninety skulls (44 males) were included for analysis (180 sides). PDTN groove morphology on individual sides ranged from non-existent (20.6 %) to partial (5.6 %) and complete canals (1.1 %); 93.3 % of skulls had a PDTN groove or canal. Skulls exhibited bilateral symmetry (P = 0.12) and males had significantly deeper PDTN grooves or canals (P = 0.018). Basicranial flexion correlated strongly with PDTN groove or canal prevalence (P = 0.0028). Sri Lankan skulls have a high prevalence of PDTN grooves and also canals, a feature not previously described. Prevalence was related significantly to sex but not symmetry, and PDTN grooves and canals correlated significantly with basicranial angle. Knowledge of this morphology is important for some clinical procedures, anthropological assessment, and as a location for PDTN entrapment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agur AMR, Dalley AF, Grant JCB (2013) Grant’s atlas of anatomy, 13th edn. Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonopoulou M, Piagou M, Anagnostopoulou S (2008) An anatomical study of the pterygospinous and pterygoalar bars and foramina—their clinical relevance. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 362:104–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chouké K (1946) On the incidence of the foramen of civinini and the porus crotaphitico-buccinatorius in American Whites and Negroes. I. Observations on 1544 skulls. Am J Phys Anthropol 42:203–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung KW, Chung HM (2011) Gross anatomy, 7th edn. Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Das S, Paul S (2007) Ossified pterygospinous ligament and its clinical implications. Bratisl Lek Listy 1083:141–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennison KJ, Dias GJ (2007) The posterior deep temporal nerve: its relationship with the human cranial base. Clin Anat 202:126–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dias G, Dennison K, Premachandra I (2001) The previously-unrecognized posterior deep temporal nerve groove on the cranial base. Int J Osst Arch 114:241–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Dias GJ, Koh JMC, Cornwall J (2014) The origin of the auriculotemporal nerve and its relationship to the middle meningeal artery. Anat Sci Int. doi:10.1007/s12565-014-0247-9

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebenraj TJ, Vishali N (2014) Pterygospinous bar and multiple Civinini Foramen—a rare anatomical variant and its clinical implications. Int J Curr Res Rev 610:126–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Feneis H, Dauber W (2000) Pocket atlas of human anatomy: based on the international nomenclature, 4th edn. Thieme, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Galdames IS, Matamala DZ, Smith RL, Suazo G, Zavando M, Smith R (2010) Anatomical study of the pterygospinous and pterygoalar bony bridges and foramens in dried crania and its clinical relevance. Int J Morphol 28:405–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Kieser J, Panting N, Dias G, Thackeray F (1999) Basicranial flexion and glenoidal morphology in humans. Persp Hum Biol 4:127–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Logan BM, Reynolds PA, Hutchings RT, McMinn RMH (2004) McMinn’s color atlas of head and neck anatomy, 3rd edn. Mosby, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore KL, Dalley AF, Agur AMR (2013) Clinically oriented anatomy, 7th edn. Wolters Kluwer, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Natsis K, Piagkou M, Skotsimara G, Totlis T, Apostolidis S, Panagiotopoulos N-A, Skandalakis P (2014) The ossified pterygoalar ligament: an anatomical study with pathological and surgical implications. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 42:e266–e270

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nayak SR, Rai R, Krishnamurthy A, Prabhu LV, Ranade AV, Mansur DI, Kumar S (2008) An unusual course and entrapment of the lingual nerve in the infratemporal fossa. Bratisl Lek Listy 10911:525–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Netter FH (2014) Atlas of human anatomy, 6th edn. Elsevier Health Sciences, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Palastanga N, Soames R (2011) Anatomy and human movement, structure and function with PAGEBURST access, 6: anatomy and human movement, 6th edn. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Raju S, Sujatha M, Indira Devi B, Sirisha B, Sri Devi P (2012) Bilateral ossified pterygospinous ligament and its clinical significance. J Surg Acad 22:30–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohen JW, Yokochi C, Lütjen-Drecoll E (2006) Color atlas of anatomy: a photographic study of the human body, 7th edn. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross CF, Ravosa MJ (1993) Basicranial flexion, relative brain size, and facial kyphosis in nonhuman primates. Am J Phys Anthropol 91:305–324

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saran RS, Ananthi KS, Subramaniam A, Balaji MT, Vinaitha D, Vaithianathan G (2013) Foramen of Civinini: a new anatomical guide for maxillofacial surgeons. J Clin Diag Res 77:1271–1275

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma NA, Garud RS (2011) Morphometric evaluation and a report on the aberrations of the foramina in the intermediate region of the human cranial base: a study of an Indian population. Eur J Anat 153:140–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw J (1993) Pterygospinous and pterygoalar foramina: a role in the etiology of trigeminal neuralgia? Clin Anat 63:173–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinnatamby CS (2011) Last’s anatomy: regional and applied, 12th edn. Elsevier Health Sciences UK, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Snell RS (2010) Clinical neuroanatomy, 7th edn. Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Standring S (2008) Gray’s anatomy: the anatomical basis of clinical practice, 40th edn. Elsevier Health Sciences UK, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Yadav A, Kumar V, Niranjan R (2014) Pterygospinous bar and foramen in the adult human skulls of North India: its incidence and clinical relevance. Anat Res Int 2014:286794. doi:10.1155/2014/286794

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Jules Kieser (BSc, BDS, PhD), whose work in this area was instrumental in providing the foundation and inspiration for so many studies. We thank Upali Ratna Keerthi Wickramasinghe from the Radiology Unit of the Dental Hospital, Faculty of Dental Science, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka for assistance and expertise with the radiography, and Chris Smith, curator W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago for his assistance with the illustrations.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    George J. Dias & Jon Cornwall

  2. Department of Physiology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Navneet Lal

  3. Department of Anatomy, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

    Malkanthi Chandrasekera

Authors
  1. George J. Dias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Navneet Lal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Malkanthi Chandrasekera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jon Cornwall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jon Cornwall.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dias, G.J., Lal, N., Chandrasekera, M. et al. Identification of the posterior deep temporal nerve groove and canal, and its relationship to basicranial angle. Anat Sci Int 90, 256–263 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-014-0260-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-014-0260-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation