Radiological Study of the Intermediate Condylar Canal

Abstract

Intermediate condylar canal is a skull base canal in the condyloid fossa, located laterally to the occipital condyles and posteromedially to the jugular foramen. Despite its presence in the human skull base, this structure is rarely mentioned in textbooks and has not previously been examined radiologically. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of intermediate condylar canal in CQ500 dataset, an open-access computed tomography scans of Indian population. A total of 490 head and neck computed tomography scans were thoroughly investigated. The presence of the intermediate condylar canal was investigated by two observers. Our results indicated the intermediate condylar canal was found in 10.5% of subjects (43 out of 410 individuals) or 6% of sides (49 out of 820 sides). Bilateral prevalence and unilateral prevalence were 1.5% (6 subjects) and 9% (37 subjects), respectively. No significant difference was found between sides. The width of these canals was 2.0 ± 0.5 mm (1.1–3.5 mm range). It is important to surgeons to be aware and familiar of intermediate condylar canal as it is located at the crucial crossroad of various surgical skull base approaches. This study serves as the fundamental research and further studies could include the investigation of intermediate condylar canal in skeletal specimens of various ethnic origins and imaging study to examine the content of the canals.