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Foramen tympanicum or foramen of Huschke: anatomical cone beam CT study
U Tozoglu1, F Caglayan, A Harorli
1Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey. utozoglu@hotmail.com
Objective:
The foramen of Huschke (foramen tympanicum) represents a developmental defect in the antero-inferior aspect of the bony external auditory meatus. The foramen is located at the antero-inferior aspect of the external auditory canal, posteromedial to the temporomandibular joint. The aim of this study is to define the prevalence and location of the foramen of Huschke.
Methods:
We retrospectively examined 207 cone beam CT (CBCT) studies (414 ears). We used flat panel detector (FPD)-based CBCT (New Tom FP; Quantitative Radiology, Verona, Italy) for imaging in our department. We noted the location of the foramen tympanicum and calculated its prevalence as a percentage.
Results:
We found a foramen tympanicum in 37 (17.9%) of 207 patients. This was unilateral in 24 patients (11.6%) and bilateral in 13 patients (6.3%). Mean axial diameter was 5 mm and mean sagittal diameter was 2 mm.
Conclusion:
The foramen tympanicum is an uncommon disorder and is well demonstrated on CBCT. This is the first study to detect the foramen tympanicum using FPD-based CBCT.
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