Anatomist and surgeon Ernst Rektoržik (1834–1897), with an english translation of his “On the occurrence of a venous sinus in the carotid canal of humans”

Abstract Background Ernst Rektoržik was a 19th-century surgeon-anatomist. His name lives on eponymously in association with the venous plexus he first described, traveling with the petrous part of the internal carotid artery. Objective As very little has been published about this historical figure beyond this eponymous usage, the following article provides an overview of his life and contributions to surgical anatomy. Additionally, an English translation of his paper describing the above-noted venous plexus is included. Methods/Results Standard search engines were used to review the available literature on Ernst Rektoržik. This literature was analyzed, and a narrative review was created. Conclusions It is on pioneers such as Rektoržik that our current knowledge of skull base anatomy is based.