[The persistence of a spheno-occipital synchondrosis in an adult].
The postnatal development of the central skull base is a complex process: at least 25 separate ossification centers are assimilated in the maturing sphenoid and occipital bones. Some synchondroses may only be partially fused and persist during adulthood. We report the case of a 30-year-old man with a penetrating trauma of the central skull base. Skull computed tomography demonstrated a rare anatomic variant: incomplete fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis. Knowledge of the normal skull base development and of its variants may prove helpful in differentiating a post-traumatic injury from a normal variant.
Adem
C
C
Service de Neuroradiologie, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris.
Lafitte
F
F
Jarquin
S
S
Guillem
P
P
Chiras
J
J
D000328:Adult; D002356:Cartilage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009777:Occipital Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011007:Pneumocephalus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019291:Skull Base / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D013100:Sphenoid Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging