Quantitative analysis of the vascular and neural compartments of the jugular foramen in dry skulls

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the right and left sides and the endo-exocranial orifices of the jugular foramen (JF) considering the vascular compartment (VC) and the neural compartment (NC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 20 human dry skulls belonging to the inventory of Medical Faculty, Department of Anatomy, were included in this study. Numerical values were obtained using direct anatomical and also computed tomography measurements. RESULTS: The endocranial and exocranial VC occupied wider areas on the right side than on the left side (p 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the surface area of the endocranial and exocranial NC in terms of the sides (p 0.05). The length of the endocranial VC was greater on the right than on the left side. The right exocranial VC was wider than the left exocranial VC. However, the widths and lengths of the endocranial and exocranial NC showed no statistically significant difference between the sides (p 0.05). CONCLUSION: The right-sided dominance of JF observed in this study was attributed to the length of endocranial VC and the width of exocranial VC.