title: Endoscopic anatomy of the skull base explored through the nose.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Different surgical approaches have been used over the years in order to access skull base. The endoscopic endonasal approach represents a direct and minimally invasive approach to the suprasellar, retrosellar, and retroclival space, with the advantage of avoid brain retraction and visualize safely and effectively the surgical target. The present contribution aims to provide anatomical details of the skull base as seen from below (i.e., via an endoscopic endonasal approach).
  
  
  METHODS
  Five human cadaver heads were dissected. The anatomical neurovascular structures within the skull base were visualized and carefully described from an endoscopic endonasal view. The advantages and limitations of the endoscopic endonasal route were discussed as well.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The entire skull base region, as seen from the endoscopic endonasal viewpoint, has been divided in 4 main regions: anterior skull base, middle skull base, posterior skull base and parasellar area.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The development of endoscopic techniques has opened different perspectives over the skull base surgery. Endonasal surgery provides access to a wide range of skull base lesions via a natural surgical corridor (i.e., the nasal cavities).
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: domenico.solari@unina.it.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Solari
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiaramonte
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Somma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Maxillo-Facial surgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dell'Aversana Orabona
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Notaris
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo Flavio
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Angileri
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cavallo
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Montagnani
authors.affiliation: Centre for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Department of Systematic Anatomy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tschabitscher
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cappabianca
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery*; D044582:Neuroendoscopes; D019291:Skull Base / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery
keywords: Anatomy; Endoscopic endonasal; Skull base; Suprasellar area; Transsphenoidal surgery