Foramen of Vesalius

Objectives: To investigate the frequency of unilateral or bilateral foramen of Vesalius (FV), number of FV present on one side, and presence of a septum on FV. Methods: We bilaterally examined, 347 sphenoid bones of collections of the Department of Anatomy, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul and Dokuz Eylul Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey in 2007. Results: Of the 347 bilaterally examined skulls, 87 (25.1%) had bilateral FV, 191 (55%) specimens did not have any FV on both sides, and 69 specimens (19.9%) had unilateral FV (33 skulls had FV on the right side, and the remaining 36 skulls had FV on the left). Of the 156 skulls which had FV, only 4 skulls (3 on the right, one on the left ) had double FV on the same side. We have not observed any specimens which had 3 or more FV on the same side. Of the 156 skulls which had FV, 11 skulls had a septum on FV, 3 skulls had a septum on FV on the right side, and 6 skulls had a septum on FV on the left side. Two skulls bilaterally had a septum on both sides. Conclusion: We believe that our data about FV will be enlightening not only for anatomists, but also for clinicians.