The incidence and types of sella and sphenopetrous bridges

Abstract

The incidence and types of sella and sphenopetrous bridges were investigated in 37 adult male and 43 adult female (a total of 80) dry skulls with removed calvarias. In addition to this, the sellar and parasellar region of ten fixed cadavers (two female and eight male) were carefully dissected, and the individuals were examined for the evidence of sella and sphenopetrous bridges. Sella bridges were seen in 34.17% of the subjects overall. The trace, incomplete and complete types were 11.9%, 3.7% and 17.5%, respectively. On the other hand, sphenopetrous bridges were observed in 15.8% of the male and 4.9% of the female subjects overall. The cadaveric investigation revealed one trace, three incomplete, and one complete sella bridge in three cadavers. In addition to this, a complete sphenopetrous bridge was detected in one of the cadavers. Variations in the cranial base are of importance for surgical approaches in that location.