Polytomographic evaluation of the clivus and petrous apices: a new view

The base of the skull lesions that arise anterior to the porus acusticus, clivus, or from the jugular carotid or hypoglossal canals present difficult surgical access. Plain films, arteriograms, and the conventional AP, lateral, and full base tomograms have often fallen short in allowing an easy understanding of the surgical relationships between these structures. The objectives of this thesis are 1. to present a previously unpublished tomographic view based on the surgical relationships, as encountered by the surgeon, that complement the traditional views and simplify the preoperative assessment of the lesion, 2. to review the literature on the subject, and 3. to present the author's experience with this view in use since 1976.