The occurrence, variations and diameter of the human condylar canal in relation to the jugular foramen

Abstract

In medical practice, especially in analysis of radiograms and computed tomography scans, it is very important to be familiar with the anatomy of the skull base, not only the normal and typical anatomical structures but also the variations and anomalies. One of the important venous foramina of the human skull is the condylar canal. This structure is described as the most stable and permanent venous emissary, with a prevalence of up to 100%.
In our study, based on 100 human macerated skulls, this canal was encountered in 81% of cases. In several it was double. We have not encountered any information on this in the available literature.
We found that the condylar canal in humans could be double and that the size of the external opening of this canal is not crucial in relation to the size of the jugular foramen. There was no significant correlation between the jugular foramen and the condylar canal in our specimens.