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The skull base is uniquely placed to absorb anteriorly directed forces imparted either via the midfacial skeleton or cranial vault. A variety of skull base fracture classifications exist. Less well understood, however, is fracture extension beyond the anterior cranial fossa (ACF) into the middle and posterior cranial fossae. The cases of 81 patients from two UK major trauma centres were studied to examine the distribution of fractures across the skull base and any relationship between the vector of force and extent of skull base injury. It was found that predominantly lateral force to the craniofacial skeleton produced a fracture that propagated beyond the ACF into the middle cranial fossa in 77.4% of cases, significantly more (P<0.001) than for predominantly anterior force (12.0%). Fractures were significantly more likely to propagate into the posterior fossa with a lateral vector of impact compared to an anterior vector (P=0.049). This difference in energy transfer across the skull base may, in part, be explained by the local anatomy. The more delicate central ACF acts as a 'crumple zone' in order to absorb force. Conversely, no collapsible interface exists in the lateral aspect of the ACF, thus the lateral ACF behaves like a 'buttress', resulting in increased energy transfer., (Copyright © 2015 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We present a patient who had a median anterior cerebral artery fenestration with a congenital azygous infra-optic anterior cerebral artery. This rare combination of abnormalities was an incidental finding in a patient who suffered spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage from a ruptured anterior cerebral artery aneurysm., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)