Abstract
INTRODUCTION. The anterior ethmoid artery (AEA) is one of three potential branches of the ophthalmic artery. Although it begins it course in the orbital cavity, it eventually traverses three cavities to terminate in two main branches in the nasal cavity. Endoscopic surgery requires the surgeon to navigate the complex anatomy of the nasal cavity. This artery is quite prominent and can therefore be at risk in surgical interventions. The aim of this study was to determine the variability of the anterior ethmoidal artery and the importance of knowing them due to the risks and complications involved in endoscopic sinus surgery.
METHODS. Articles from the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE and PUBMED were searched using the following search terms; “Anterior Ethmoidal Artery”, “Anatomic variation”, “Endoscopic sinus surgery”. The database yielded one hundred and twenty‐nine articles. Ninety‐eight of the studies were either not in English, irrelevant in terms of study direction, or the full papers were simply inaccessible and were therefore excluded.
SUMMARY. Thirty‐two papers were deemed eligible. The included articles were mostly conducted using Computed Tomography (CT), some however were a combination of CT and cadaveric studies while one paper was surgical in nature. The main themes of anatomical variations identified are in terms of course; dimensions in mm; distances to related structures in mm and demographic differences. The average diameter of the AEA was found to be 0.8 mm with a mean intranasal length of 5.82 mm. The distance of the AEA from the skull base ranged from 0.87 mm to 6.17 mm.
CONCLUSIONS. The literature has clearly detailed the great variability of the AEA, not as much in its dimensions, but certainly in its course and relations to the nasal cavity structures and features. The findings of this study suggest the usefulness of this information to surgeons performing surgeries such as pituitary surgeries and intranasally approached orbital surgeries.
METHODS. Articles from the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE and PUBMED were searched using the following search terms; “Anterior Ethmoidal Artery”, “Anatomic variation”, “Endoscopic sinus surgery”. The database yielded one hundred and twenty‐nine articles. Ninety‐eight of the studies were either not in English, irrelevant in terms of study direction, or the full papers were simply inaccessible and were therefore excluded.
SUMMARY. Thirty‐two papers were deemed eligible. The included articles were mostly conducted using Computed Tomography (CT), some however were a combination of CT and cadaveric studies while one paper was surgical in nature. The main themes of anatomical variations identified are in terms of course; dimensions in mm; distances to related structures in mm and demographic differences. The average diameter of the AEA was found to be 0.8 mm with a mean intranasal length of 5.82 mm. The distance of the AEA from the skull base ranged from 0.87 mm to 6.17 mm.
CONCLUSIONS. The literature has clearly detailed the great variability of the AEA, not as much in its dimensions, but certainly in its course and relations to the nasal cavity structures and features. The findings of this study suggest the usefulness of this information to surgeons performing surgeries such as pituitary surgeries and intranasally approached orbital surgeries.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 01 Jun 2022 |
| Event | 39th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) - Fort Worth Duration: 13 Jun 2022 → 17 Jun 2022 |
Conference
| Conference | 39th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) |
|---|---|
| City | Fort Worth |
| Period | 13/06/2022 → 17/06/2022 |