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Morphometric analysis of the infratemporal fossa using three-dimensional (3D) digital models

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Abstract

Purpose

The infratemporal fossa contains important neurovascular components and is directly related to other anatomical regions and structures. The morphometric distances between the bones forming its borders have not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the morphometry of the infratemporal fossa.

Methods

3D models of the skull of 83 individuals were reconstructed from DICOM datasets, from which length, depth and width measurements were determined and compared between genders and the right and left sides.

Results

All measurements obtained were significantly different between males and females. There were also significant differences between the left and right sides for depth and width measurements.

Conclusion

This is the first study to determine and investigate measurements of the infratemporal fossa; as such it provides a comprehensive view of the morphology of the fossa. It provides valuable information for surgical interventions and differential diagnoses of pathologies in this region, as well as enhancing its understanding in medical education.

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Data availability

Data sharing not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank to technical staff of the Cukurova University Department of Radiology for their technical support and contribution to the collection of CT dataset.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    Huseyin Erdem, Yigit Cevik, Nazire Kilic Safak, Neslihan Boyan & Ozkan Oguz

  2. Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD14HN, UK

    Roger W. Soames

  3. Department of Radiology, Baskent University Hospital Adana, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    Umur Anil Pehlivan

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  1. Huseyin Erdem
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  2. Yigit Cevik
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  7. Ozkan Oguz
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Contributions

Conceptualization: [HE], [NB], [OO]; Methodology: [HE], [OO]; Formal analysis and investigation: [HE], [NKS]; Writing—original draft preparation: [HE]; Writing—review and editing: [HE], [YC], [RWS]; Resources: [UAP]; Supervision: [OO], [NB]; Visualization: [YC], [HE].

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huseyin Erdem.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was waived by the local Ethics Committee of Cukurova University in view of the retrospective nature of the study and all the procedures being performed were part of the routine care (Protocol no: 6.12.2019/94–18).

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Erdem, H., Cevik, Y., Safak, N.K. et al. Morphometric analysis of the infratemporal fossa using three-dimensional (3D) digital models. Surg Radiol Anat 45, 729–734 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-023-03144-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-023-03144-5

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