Head and Neck ImagingEmpty glenoid fossa sign
absence of the mandibular condyle in the glenoid fossa after
fracture of the mandibular condyle. Plain films and panoramic views are usually adequate and cost-effective means of evaluating solitary mandibular injuries. However, condylar fractures may be missed during clinical examination and are sometimes difficult to see on plain films. They are occasionally detected on a
CT study, performed to evaluate the
temporal bone for post-traumatic ear bleeding, itself caused by a tympanic bone
fracture resulting from the impact of the mandibular condyle. Axial CT-images through the external auditory canal may then show an 'empty glenoid fossa sign' (
Fig.1).
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Patient with post-traumatic ear bleeding.
a. Axial CT image of temporal bones shows empty glenoid fossa on the left (arrowhead). Somewhat displaced fracture of the left tympanic bone (arrow).
b. Coronal CT image confirms displaced subcondylar fracture on the left (arrow). A cortical fracture is also seen in the right ascending ramus (arrowhead).
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Empty glenoid fossa sign, Fig.1 (a) | | Empty glenoid fossa sign, Fig.1 (b) | |