Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is one of the most excruciating pain syndromes afflicting the orofacial region. Trigeminal neuralgia may be primary i.e. idiopathic or secondary, resulting from trauma or a CNS lesion. Considering the agonizing nature of the disease and TN being the commonest of the neural maladies affecting the orofacial region it is important for the oral physician to be aware of all available treatment options. This article makes an attempt to present a brief insight into the current treatment modalities that are on hand to treat this condition. From the perspective of the oral physician the pharmacotherapy constitutes the cornerstone in the management of TN. At the same time, it is also important to be aware and updated of the role of the oral surgeon and radiologist in the application of the array of interventional procedures available for treating TN.

SummaryA young male of Asian-Indian ethnicity reported with a complaint of a painless, slow growing swelling over the left side of lower jaw. A thorough clinical history was taken and detailed radiological exam performed. The conventional radiographic examination revealed a mixed radiolucent-radiopaque lesion with unique appearances on different radiographs. Additional computed tomographic examination discovered the involvement of several bones in the skull base. Subsequent to histopathological confirmation a final diagnosis of craniofacial fibrous dysplasia was made. This case is particularly unique and of didactic importance as well because the various textbook descriptions for radiological appearances of fibrous dysplasia were found in the same case.

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Background: The base of the skull has foramina and bony features that bear significant anatomical and surgical importance, foramen magnum and occipital condyles being two such important anatomical entities. Hence a clear understanding of their position, anatomy and dimensions is necessary. With this aim in mind the study was designed to: a) determine the distances between the anterior and posterior bony points of occipital condyles and assess the variation on the right and left side b) determine the dimensions of foramen magnum c) the differences of these measurements between the male and female genders. Materials and Methods: 100 (male-59; female-41) dry adult human skulls were obtained from the Dept. of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine & Toxicology of Grant Medical College in Mumbai, India. A millimetric sliding vernier caliper was used to measure the distances. The statistical analysis was done using the statistical package Graph Pad Prism 5 software. Results: The mean axial length of the occipital condyle (ALOC) was found out to be greater on the left side as compared to the right but the difference was not statistically significant. The measurements were greater in the male skulls than the female skulls, for both the sides and the difference was statistically significant. The anterior intercondylar distance was found to be higher in female skulls but the difference between the genders was statistically not significant. The average anteroposterior diameter of foramen magnum (ADFM) was greater in the male skulls; the difference between the genders was statistically not significant. As opposed to this the transverse diameter (TDFM) was found to be greater in the female skulls but the difference was statistically not significant. Conclusions: The study gives an insight about these dimensions in a subset of population in the western Maharashtra region of India. Further studies with larger sample size are required to validate these findings and its applicability in a clinical scenario.