ABSTRACT
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.
KEYWORDS
Anterior ethmoidal artery - anterior ethmoidal canal - ethmoid roof
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Jian-chun Liao
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Affiliated Changzheng Hospital of Second Military
Medical University
Shanghai, China
eMail: abLiaojc@163.com
