Computed tomography based measurement of the dimensions of foramen ovale and rotundum in trigeminal neuralgia

OBJECTIVE: To compare sizes of the foramen ovale and rotundum in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) patients and healthy individuals on CT images.

METHODS: Twenty-one TN patients and 24 healthy volunteers were included in this retrospectively designed study, carried out at the Department of Anatomy, Medical School, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey, between May 2004 and August 2009. The dimension of the foramen ovale on the cross-sectional images, and the foramen rotundum on coronal sections on CT images were examined.

RESULTS: The mean sizes of the foramen rotundum on the right and left sides were 3.04x3.2 mm and 2.8x2.9 mm in TN patients, and 2.4x3.2 mm and 2.5x3.1 mm in controls. The mean sizes of the foramen ovale on the right and left sides were 4.8x6.04 mm and 4.9x5.5 mm in TN patients, and 3.7x8.2 mm and 4.1x7.6 mm in controls. The dimensions of left and right foramens were not significantly different in both TN patients and controls (p>0.05). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was not found between the foraminal dimensions of the TN patients and controls (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the sizes of foramen ovale and rotundum are highly symmetrical in both groups, suggesting that sizes of the foramina are not associated with the occurrence of TN.