Nikolova Silviya Y, Toneva Diana H, Yordanov Yordan A, Lazarov Nikolai E
Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Anthropology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Anthropol Anz. 2012 Jul;69(3):351-66. doi: 10.1127/0003-5548/2012/0165.
In comparative and evolutionary aspects in humans, the middle meningeal artery enters the cranium through the foramen spinosum, whereas in great apes the middle meningeal artery can enter the cranium through foramen spinosum, through foramen ovale or through petrosphenoid fissure. Generally, in nonhuman primates the anterior meningeal system is associated with the ophthalmic branch of the internal carotid artery. The vessels joining the two systems pass through the additional channels: the superior orbital fissure or through the cranio-orbital foramen. In anatomically modern humans, the absence of foramen spinosum involves abnormal development and course of the middle meningeal artery and it is usually accompanied with replacement of the conventional middle meningeal artery with such, arising from the ophthalmic artery system. In these cases the middle meningeal artery most often enters the middle cranial fossa through the superior orbital fissure and rarely through the meningo-orbital foramen. All skulls, investigated in the present study, belonged to adult individuals of both sexes, conditionally grouped into three cranial series--contemporary male, medieval male, and medieval female series. The absence of foramen spinosum was established only among the medieval male and female series--in 1 (0.70%) male and in 1 (0.72%) female skull on the right side and in 3 (2.13%) female skulls on the left side. In 1 (0.72%) female skull, a small atypically located foramen spinosum was established on the right side. In all of the described cases, the intracranial meningeal grooves started from the lateral edge of the superior orbital fissure and probably reflect the ophthalmic origin of the middle meningeal artery.
在人类的比较和进化方面，脑膜中动脉通过棘孔进入颅骨，而在大猩猩中，脑膜中动脉可通过棘孔、卵圆孔或岩蝶裂进入颅骨。一般来说，在非人类灵长类动物中，前脑膜系统与颈内动脉的眼支相关。连接这两个系统的血管通过额外的通道：眶上裂或颅眶孔。在解剖学上的现代人类中，棘孔缺失涉及脑膜中动脉的异常发育和走行，并且通常伴随着由眼动脉系统发出的血管替代传统的脑膜中动脉。在这些情况下，脑膜中动脉最常通过眶上裂进入中颅窝，很少通过脑膜眶孔进入。本研究中所研究的所有颅骨均属于成年男女个体，按条件分为三个颅骨系列——当代男性、中世纪男性和中世纪女性系列。仅在中世纪男性和女性系列中发现了棘孔缺失——右侧1例（0.70%）男性颅骨和1例（0.72%）女性颅骨，左侧3例（2.13%）女性颅骨。在1例（0.72%）女性颅骨中，右侧发现一个位置不典型的小棘孔。在所有上述病例中，颅内脑膜沟从眶上裂的外侧边缘开始，可能反映了脑膜中动脉的眼动脉起源。
