Anat Cell Biol.  2018 Mar;51(1):19-24. 10.5115/acb.2018.51.1.19.

Supraorbital nerve exits: positional variations and localization relative to surgical landmarks

• Nanayakkara D
• Manawaratne R
• Sampath H
• Vadysinghe A
• Peiris R

• KMID: 2418391
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.2018.51.1.19

Abstract

Significant variations exist in the occurrence, form, and position of supraorbital nerve exits through the frontal bone. Detailed knowledge of the positional variations of supraorbital exits is important to ensure safe and successful regional anesthesia, and to avoid iatrogenic nerve injuries during surgery of the orbitofacial region. Supraorbital nerve exits from 116 sides of 58 dry intact adult skulls (37 male and 21 female) in a Sri Lankan population were examined to determine the morphological features and the precise position in relation to the facial midline, temporal crest of frontal bone, and frontozygomatic suture. A majority of supraorbital nerve exits existed as notches (73.8%) and the rest as foramina (26.2%). Accessory exits were seen in 18.9% skulls. Of the skulls examined, 55.1% displayed bilateral supraorbital notches, 8.6% had bilateral supraorbital foramina, and 36.3% had a notch on one side and a foramen on the contralateral side. In males, the supraorbital nerve exit was located 23.64±3.49 mm laterally from the facial midline, 27.86±2.76 mm medially from the temporal crest of the frontal bone, 28.66±2.56 mm from the frontozygomatic suture, and 2.12±1.07 mm above the supraorbital margin in the case of a foramen, and in females 22.69±3.28 mm laterally from the facial midline, 26.32±3.02 medially from temporal crest of frontal bone, 27.29±3.05 from the frontozygomatic suture, and 2.99±1.49 mm above the supraorbital margin when it existed as a foramen. The observations made in this study will be useful when planning a supraorbital nerve block and surgery in the supraorbital region.

Keyword

Supraorbital nerve; Supraorbital foramen; Morphometry

MeSH Terms

Adult
Anesthesia, Conduction
Female
Frontal Bone
Humans
Male
Nerve Block
Skull
Sutures

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Skull showing the measurements taken to determine the position of the supraorbital foramen. SOF-FM, distance between medial margin of the supraorbital foramen and facial midline; SOF-FZS, distance between the supraorbital foramen and frontozygomatic suture; SOF-SOM, the vertical distance between the inferior margin of the supraorbital foramen and superior orbital margin; SOF-TCFB, distance between the lateral margin of the supraorbital foramen and temporal crest of the frontal bone.

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