Division of Anatomy, Faculty of Dental Medicine, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Folia Morphol (Warsz). 2021;80(1):219-221. doi: 10.5603/FM.a2020.0018. Epub 2020 Feb 19.
The lateral (temporal) wall of the orbit separates it from the temporal fossa and the anterior part of the temporal muscle. Within this wall, the sphenozygomatic suture joins the greater wing of the sphenoid bone and the zygomatic bone. We retrospectively documented in cone-beam computed tomography the anatomy of the orbit in a 56-year-old female and we found a previously unreported anatomic variant. The greater wing of the sphenoid bone and the zygomatic bone were separated, bilaterally, by a large unossified space which we termed the sphenozygomatic fissure. This was merged inferiorly with the inferior orbital fissure. A possible imbalanced mechanism of membranous ossification of both the zygomatic bone and the orbital surface of the greater wing could be speculated as a possible cause for such sphenozygomatic fissure. This previously undocumented anatomic variant is of high clinical relevance, since it may allow orbital fat to herniate (or bulge) toward the temporal fossa, it may be easily damaged during minor trauma and it should be carefully approached during the surgery of the orbit through the lateral wall.
眶外侧（颞）壁将眶与颞窝和颞肌的前部隔开。在该壁内，蝶-颧骨缝将蝶骨的大翼和颧骨连接在一起。我们回顾性地在锥形束 CT 中记录了一位 56 岁女性的眶解剖结构，发现了一种以前未报道的解剖变异。蝶骨大翼和颧骨双侧被一个大的未骨化的空间分开，我们称之为蝶-颧骨裂。它在下方与眶下裂合并。推测颧骨和蝶骨大翼眶面的膜内成骨的不平衡机制可能是形成这种蝶-颧骨裂的原因。这种以前未记录的解剖变异具有很高的临床相关性，因为它可能导致眶脂肪向颞窝疝出（或膨出），在轻微外伤时容易受损，并且在通过外侧壁进行眶手术时应小心处理。
