Olfaction preservation in anterior cranial base approaches: an anatomic study.

Objective: To study the anatomic basis for olfaction-sparing anterior cranial base approaches.

Methods: The medial anterior skull base containing the olfactory unit and delimited by the inner table of the frontal sinus, the lesser wing of the sphenoid bone, and the medial orbital walls was removed from six cadaveric specimens. Histological methods were used to investigate the location, distribution, and depth of penetration of olfactory nerves.