Morphological Variation of Styloid Process and Its Clinical Significance

Styloid process is a part of temporal bone, located anterior to the Stylomastoid foramen and antero-medial to the mastoid process. It measures 2-3 cm in length. An elongated Styloid process is often asymptomatic, unless detected radiologically. An abnormally elongated Styloid process may compress the vital structures like blood vessels and nerves close to it. This can lead to Eagle’s syndrome, which comprises recurrent throat pain, foreign body sensation in pharyngeal region, dysphagia and facial pain. During routine osteology discussion with undergraduate students, an adult dried skull showed abnormally elongated Styloid process on both sides. Awareness of such variations may be of clinical importance to Anaesthetists, Radiologists and ENT surgeons for accurate diagnosis and management.