Superior orbital fissure as an entrance port of unexpected intracranial foreign bodies

Abstract

The superior orbital fissure is a comma shaped opening which leads from the middle fossa of the skull into the apex of the orbit. It bounds on the greater and lesser wings of the sphenoid bone².

The aperture is normally made of a vertical lower component and a near-horizontal component extending laterally beneath the lesser wing of the sphenoid¹.

It allows passage of the superior orbital vein, the oculomotor, trochlear, abducens and the first division of the trigeminal nerve.

We wish to show, however, that not only does it allow the passage of these normal structures; it also allows the passage of foreign bodies into the cranium, even in a way not obvious to the examining physician, and in such cases inspection may reveal only minimal signs of violence.