THIEME 73 Abnormality of the Foramen Spinosum due to a Variation in the Trajectory of the Middle Meningeal Artery: A Case Report in Human Joel Henrique Ellwanger1 Deivis de Campos1,2 1 Department of Biology and Pharmacy, Laboratory of Histology and Address for correspondence Deivis de Campos, PhD, Departamento Pathology, University of Santa Cruz do Sul – UNISC, Santa Cruz do Sul, de Biologia e Farmácia, Laboratório de Histologia e Patologia, RS, Brazil Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul, Av. Independência, 2293, Santa 2 Institute of Basic Health Sciences, Post Graduate Program in Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil (e-mail:
[email protected]). Neurosciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, RS, Brazil J Neurol Surg Rep 2013;74:73–76. Abstract Originating from the maxillary artery, the middle meningeal artery (MMA) is predomi- nantly periosteal irrigating the bone and dura mater. It enters the floor of the middle cranial fossa through the foramen spinosum, travels laterally through a middle fossa bony ridge, and curves over the previous upper-greater wing of the sphenoid, where it in a variable point is divided into frontal and parietal branches. The complex sequence of the MMA development gives many opportunities for variant anatomy. In a Caucasian Keywords cadaver skull of an approximately 35-year-old individual belonging to the didactical ► middle meningeal collection of the Laboratory of Human Anatomy at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, artery Brazil, it was noted that the right foramen spinosum has an abnormal shape. In this ► anatomic variation report, we discuss an abnormality of the foramen spinosum due to a variation in the ► foramen spinosum trajectory of the MMA.