Developing A Digital Learning Resource on the Pterygopalatine Fossa Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography

Abstract

The Pterygopalatine fossa is one of the most challenging anatomical areas for dental students to master. It is a small pyramidal-shaped fossa on the lateral aspect of the skull between the pterygoid process of the sphenoid and the maxilla. Due to this location in the skull, the fossa is a space that is difficult to conceptualize. Cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT) has become the gold standard in various dental treatment plans providing 3D reconstruction of the skull. A CBCT scan of a young healthy male patient was used. The DICOM images were imported into Horos, an image viewing software. The CBCT scans were exported to iMovie and the distribution of both the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve and maxillary artery were annotated in the CBCT to create the visual resource. Hyperlinks were added within the program to allow users to review anatomical concepts. A learning resource was created to simplify the understanding of the pterygopalatine fossa using CBCT. In this learning resource are multiple short videos of CBCT scans of a skull. Each video has visual representations of one of the branches of either the maxillary nerve or artery. Educational digital learning resources provides a supplementary resource to help simplify understanding of difficult anatomical concepts. The pterygopalatine fossa is a small and challenging area to visualize, using CBCT allowed for the creation of a digital learning resource in 3D to help explain the distribution of both the maxillary nerve and artery branches.