INCIDENCE OF SPHENOIDAL EMISSARY FORAMEN IN A SAMPLE OF DRY SKULLS FROM LITHUANIA

Sphenoidal emissary foramen (SEF) or foramen of Vesa­lius is an opening located medially and anteriorly to the foramen ovale in the base of the skull. Curiously, it can also be absent. This study aimed to investigate the inci­dence of SEF in a sample of dry skulls from Lithuania and to compare the findings with those published pre­viously. For this, 72 dry skulls (51 male and 21 female) were examined for the presence of SEF. The patency of SEFs found was confirmed. The data gathered was statis­tically analyzed, and a literature review was performed. SEF was present in 59.7% (N = 43/72) of the skulls. It presented unilaterally (37.5%, N = 27/72) more often than bilaterally (22.2%, N = 16/72), but the difference was not statistically significant. No statistically signifi­cant difference could be observed between SEF incidence in the left (19.4%, N = 14/72) and the right (18.1%, N = 13/72) antimere in case of unilateral occurrence. Fe­male skulls were more likely to possess SEF (71.4%, N = 15/21) than male skulls (54.9%, N = 28/51) but not statistically significantly so. The findings of this study agree with the description of SEF as an inconsistently found foramen and add to the anatomical knowledge of it. Awareness of SEF is of paramount importance if sur­gical manipulations are performed in close proximity to it to reduce the risk of potential complications.