Henles Spine an Anatomical Landmark for Locating Foramina During Cranial Base Surgeries
Author(s): Surya Sitaram and Yuvaraj Babu K*
Abstract
Henle’s spine, also known as the suprameatal spine/ spina suprameatica/ spin supranationalism is found to guide the lateral wall of the mastoid antrum. Determination of the distances between Henle’s spine and the other deeper landmarks can guide the surgeon during surgeries. The aim of this study is to analyse the percentage of presence of Henle spine and to prove by morphometric analysis of the distance between three important foramina in cranial base that it can be used as an useful anatomical landmark to locate these foramina, The study used about 50 South Indian dry human skulls of unknown sex, collected from Department of Anatomy, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals. Henle’s spine was observed in 41 of the 50 skulls examined, The average distance between the Henle’s spine and lateral margin of the carotid canal was found to be 29.2 mm, the average distance between the Henle’s spine and posterior margin of Jugular foramen in the present study was 35.73 mm and the average distance between the Henle’s spine and posterior lateral margin of foramen lacerum in the current study was 46.9 mm. From the current Henle’s spine was found to be a useful anatomical landmark to locate these foramina, these data may prove valuable for surgeons in planning cranial base surgeries.