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Fossa navicularis magna

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Fosas navicularis magna (red arrow) on mid-sagittal computed tomography

Fossa navicularis magna (also known as pharyngeal fossa or phyaryngeal fovela) is a variant bony depression found at the midline of the occipital part of clivus. This fossa was first described by Tourtual. Its prevalence ranges from 0.9 to 5.3%.

Structure

Fossa navicularis magna is located on the anterior surface or pharyngeal surface of the clivus. Its position when present is between the spheno-occipital synchondrosis and the foramen magnum. Size of this fossa varies considerably and its depth ranges from 3.49 to 4.94 mm. A histological study reported the presence of loose connective tissue containing collagen and elastic fibers within the fossa navicularis magna.

Development

Two theories have been proposed to explain the formation of fossa navicularis magna. It is believed that the fossa is formed as a remnant of the notochord or residue of the channels for emissary veins.

Clinical significance

Different pathologies were found associated with fossa navicularis magna including cancers, adenoid hypertrophy, ecchordosis physaliphora, Tornwaldt cyst and Rathke cleft cyst.

See also

References

  1. Tourtual, Caspar Theobald; Royal College of Surgeons of England (1846). Neue Untersuchungen über den Bau des menschlichen Schlund- und Kehlkopfes : mit vergleichend anatomischen Bemerkungen. Royal College of Surgeons of England. Leipzig : Otto Wigand.
  2. Sheikh, Sarvenaz; Iwanaga, Joe; Rostad, Steven; Rustagi, Tarush; Oskouian, Rod J.; Tubbs, R. Shane (2017-05-31). "The First Histological Analysis of the Tissues Lining the Fossa Navicularis: Insights to its Etiology". Cureus. 9 (5): e1299. doi:10.7759/cureus.1299. ISSN 2168-8184. PMC 5493477. PMID 28680787.
  3. Bayrak, Seval; Göller Bulut, Duygu; Orhan, Kaan (2019-04-01). "Prevalence of anatomical variants in the clivus: fossa navicularis magna, canalis basilaris medianus, and craniopharyngeal canal". Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy. 41 (4): 477–483. doi:10.1007/s00276-019-02200-3. ISSN 1279-8517. PMID 30725217. S2CID 59606371.
  4. Alalade, Andrew F.; Briganti, Giovanni; Mckenzie, Jo-Lyn; Gandhi, Mitesh; Amato, Damian; Panizza, Benedict J.; Bowman, James (2018-11-01). "Fossa navicularis in a pediatric patient: anatomical skull base variant with clinical implications". Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. 22 (5): 523–527. doi:10.3171/2018.5.PEDS18157. ISSN 1933-0715. PMID 30052117. S2CID 207716490.
  5. Adanir, Saliha S.; Bahşi, Ilhan; Kervancioğlu, Piraye; Orhan, Mustafa; Aslan Öztürk, Elif M.; Yalçin, Eda D.; Topsakal, Vedat (2022). "Radiologic Evaluation of the Fossa Navicularis on Dry Skull: A Comparative CBCT Study". Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. 34 (3): 1085–1088. doi:10.1097/SCS.0000000000009069. ISSN 1049-2275. PMID 36217219. S2CID 252817976.
  6. Murjani, Bhavana; Bhosale, Rohini; Ramaswami, Easwaran; Kadam, Sonali; Ramchandani, Amit (2021). "Anatomical variations of clivus: a descriptive anatomical study". Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy. 43 (6): 945–951. doi:10.1007/s00276-021-02686-w. ISSN 1279-8517. PMID 33483831. S2CID 231682612.
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