Fig. 6

Skull base extension. a Anterior cranial fossa: coronal CT image shows a fracture extending to the lamina cribrosa, communicating the ethmoid cells with the anterior fossa of the cranium on the right side (black arrow) and spanning the orbital roof (white arrow). There is a small intracranial bone fragment (circled). This fracture may cause cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and even infectious intracranial complications. b, c Middle cranial fossa axial CT images from two different patients show extension of the fracture into the sphenoid bone and skull base affecting the carotid canal (white arrow in b) and foramen ovale (black arrow in c) with possible injury to carotid arteries and cranial nerves