Morphological characteristics of the anterior ethmoidal artery in ethmoid roof and endoscopic localization.

OBJECTIVES

To provide anatomical data to help identify and locate the anterior ethmoidal artery (AEA) precisely during endoscopic procedures.

METHOD

We dissected 15 adult cadaver heads, which provided 30 specimens, to study morphological characteristics, courses, and several types of variations.

RESULTS

We found the average diameter of the AEA to be 0.80 +/- 0.24 mm. In 85.7% of the cases, the artery was seen between the second and third lamella. Other locations were over the roof of the frontal recess cells (10.7%) and the roof of the posterior ethmoid sinus (3.6%). The AEA ran parallel to the ethmoid roof and formed a slight curve. When viewed from the superior side, the angle formed by the long axis of the artery and the lamina papyracea was 60.5 degrees +/- 16.4 degrees. In 83.3% of the cases, the anterior ethmoidal canal (AEC) was identified as a separate canal, and in 16.7% the canal was embedded in the ethmoid roof. In 10 of the 30 cases (33.3%), the AEC presented some degree of dehiscence.

CONCLUSION

As a result of these dissections, we found that the AEA's course in the ethmoid roof varies. The morphological characteristics-that the AEA runs parallel to the ethmoid roof, forming a slight posterolateral to anteromedial curve as it passes from the orbit to the cribriform plate-are the most reliable factors used to identify the artery during surgery.