Trigeminal schwannomas (TS) are rare tumors that are located in the posterior and middle cranial fossae in about a quarter of the cases. The presentation pattern is different according to the involved compartment and the goal of surgery is complete removal. We present the case of a 35-year old woman who presented a left sided TS extending from the posterior to the middle fossa and cavernous sin...

CT of a patient with conductive hearing loss showed a small vascular structure leaving the carotid canal and passing through the stapes to join the facial nerve canal. The small bony channel paralleled the anterior tympanic segment of the facial nerve, continuing beyond the geniculate ganglion into the middle cranial fossa. Otoendoscopic photography documented the presence of a persistent stape...

A newborn had an extracerebral, intracranial mass extending from the right middle cranial fossa through the base of the skull to the parapharyngeal space. The mass was predominantly composed of immature brain tissue. It was enclosed by its own leptomeninges and dura and was classified as a glioneural hamartoma.

During routine osteology demonstration of the posterior cranial fossa we noticed a transverse bony canal in the middle third of the clivus of an adult male skull. The canal was situated 1.8 cm in front the anterior border of the foramen magnum. The length of the canal was 0.6 cm long. The possible embryological basis and clinical significance of the variation was discussed.

Mucoceles of the petrous apex are rare. Their MR appearance varies depending on the degree of hydration or inspissation of the contents. Concise preoperative diagnosis is helpful, since mucoceles are better drained to the mastoids via an infralabyrinthine approach rather than the more risky middle cranial fossa approach used for cholesteatomas.