Transosseous Veins of the Temporal Bone: Connection Between Middle and Posterior Cranial Fossa Venous Structures

The veins and dural venous sinuses of the skull base are important to understand in terms of imaging findings, diagnoses, and surgery. However, to date and to the best of our knowledge, the transosseous veins of the petrous part of the temporal bone have not been studied.

Ten latex-injected adult cadaveric specimens (20 sides) were dissected to identify the intraosseous and transosseous veins. The petrous part of the temporal bone was drilled away, and the petrous part of the internal carotid artery and the veins of the middle and posterior cranial fossa adjacent to the petrous part of the temporal bone were exposed.

Transosseous veins traveling through the petrous part of the temporal bone were identified on all 20 sides. In general, these were most concentrated near the anterior and posterior parts of the petrous part of the temporal bone. Most traveled more or less vertically from the petrous ridge and related superior petrosal sinus internally through the petrous part of the temporal bone toward the inferior petrosal sinus or horizontally, uniting the veins of the floor of the middle cranial fossa with the veins of the posterior cranial fossa. These transosseous veins connected the veins in the middle cranial fossa with the veins of the posterior cranial fossa. Most (70%) of these transosseous veins were also found to have small connections to the internal carotid venous plexus.

To the best of our knowledge, previous studies have not reported on transosseous veins of the temporal bone or described their anatomy of connecting the veins of the middle and posterior cranial fossae.