title: Anomalous styloid process and its clinical implications.
abstract: In literature, there is paucity of information on the different shapes of styloid processes of the temporal bone of the skull. Textbooks of anatomy describe the styloid process to be slender, approximately 2.5 cm in length and concave on the anterior aspect only. In the present case, we observed the styloid process to be much longer than usual, bearing a concavity on the anterior, as well as the posterior aspects as a consequence of which, the bone was constricted in its proximal part. The mastoid process which is usually conical, was found to be rounded in this case. The length of the styloid process measured 2.8 and 2.7 cm on left and right sides, respectively. The skiagram displayed the biconcave profile of the styloid process and the rounded appearance of the mastoid process, thus substantiated the findings on gross examination of the skull. The anatomical knowledge of the mastoid process is important for surgeons assessing the mastoid air cells. The elongated styloid process is often a feature of Eagle's syndrome. An enlarged and calcified styloid process is often asymptomatic, unless detected radiologically. An abnormally elongated styloid process or its calcification may cause recurrent throat pain, foreign body sensation, dysphagia, or facial pain. An enlarged styloid process may also compress upon the internal carotid artery, leading to transient ischemic attack and may pose a threat to anesthetists performing intubation procedures. Awareness of such variations may be of clinical importance to radiologists and surgeons (Fig. 2, Ref. 11). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. das_srijit23@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Srijit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Farihah Haji
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Suhaimi
authors.forename: Faizah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Othman
authors.forename: Azian Abd
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Latiff
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008416:Mastoid / Q000002:abnormalities; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000002:abnormalities*