Radiological patterns of the bony roof of the superior semicircular canal

• Published in: Surgical and radiologic anatomy (English ed.) 2013, Vol.35 (1), p.61-65
• Main Authors: Cisneros, Ana Isabel, Whyte, Jaime, Martínez, Claudio, Obón, Jesús, Whyte, Ana, Crovetto, Rafael, Crovetto, Miguel Ángel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anatomic Bases of Medical; Anatomy; Anatomy & physiology; Bones; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Orthopedics; Radiological and Surgical Techniques; Radiology; Semicircular Canals - diagnostic imaging; Semicircular Canals - pathology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sex Factors; Surgery; Temporal Bone - diagnostic imaging; Temporal Bone - pathology; Tomography; Tomography, Spiral Computed - methods; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods
• ISSN: 0930-1038; 1279-8517
• DOI: 10.1007/s00276-012-1019-7

Objectives To study the radiological patterns of the bony roof of the superior semicircular canal with a view for obtaining readily applicable conclusions. Design 84 patients (163 petrous bones) have been studied by Multi-slice Helical Computed tomography (Philips Brilliance 6). We have determined the distribution of the different types of bone cover of the superior semicircular canal, taking some previously notified, standardised measurements of normality as reference. Results During the analysis of the roof of the superior semicircular canal, we have distinguished five different types, depending on their thickness and tomodensitometric aspect. Normal pattern in 121 cases (74.2 %), with a thickness of between 0.6 and 1.7 mm, papyraceous pattern or fine thickness ≤0.5 mm that appears in 23 of our cases (14.1 %), thick pattern ≥1.8 mm that we have observed in 11 cases (6.7 %), and pneumatised pattern in 5 cases (3.1 %), which is characterised by having supralabyerinthine cells. Finally, a dehiscent pattern was observed in three cases (1.8 %). Conclusion We describe five patterns of superior semicircular canal roofs: normal, thick, papyraceous, pneumatised and dehiscent. The papyraceous type and the dehiscent type would be subject to producing pathology, and in some cases the latter could be a consequence of the former.