Clinical implications of the ossified pterygospinous ligament

Introduction Complete or partial ossification of the pterygospinous ligament that connects the posterior border of the lateral pterygoid plate to the spine of the sphenoid bone occurs in 1-31.2% of people [1,2]. The ossified pterygospinous ligament is detected on the lateral or medial side or crossing over the foramen ovale on the radiographs of the dry scull in the axial projection with the beam positioned at the right angle to the base of the skull [3]. In all cases, the presence of the ossified pterygospinous ligament was detected ex vivo. Based on the relationship between anatomical structures in the infratemporal fossa, it is assumed that ossification of the ligament may be accompanied by clinical symptoms. In particular, pressure applied to the lingual nerve by the ossified pterygospinous ligament during contraction of the medial pterygoid muscle may cause tongue numbness and pain upon talking and chewing [4,5]. According to Das and Paul, ossification of the pterygospinous ligament leads to taste disorders of the anterior 2/3 of the tongue due to compression of the chorda tympani [6]. However, no evidence of the direct relationship between the ossification of the pterygospinous ligament and neurological symptoms was found in the literature. The aim of the present study was to assess neurological symptoms in patients with ossified pterygospinous ligament detected in vivo using the Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT).