Morphological study of the tuberculum sphenoidalis in macerated skulls of adult individuals.

The tuberculum sphenoidalis (TS) is an anatomical structure of variable form located at the anterior extremity of the infratemporal crest of the greater wing of the sphenoid. The object of this study was to analyse the morphology and frequency of the TS in macerated skulls. We examined 304 macerated skulls belonging to individuals of both sexes, Amerindian and Caucasian. The TS were classified morphologically into spiniform, pyramidal and laminar. TS was present in 96.3% of the skulls; the spiniform type was most frequent (40.3%), followed by pyramidal (37%) and laminar (19%). The most frequent type in females and Amerindian individuals was spiniform; in males and Caucasian individuals, the most frequent types were spiniform and pyramidal. The TS is a frequent anatomical structure on the sphenoid bone. The spiniform and pyramidal types are both very frequent. We suggest that it should be incorporated into international anatomical terminology. The term 'sphenoidal tuberculum' may be the most appropriate.