What is the skull base?
The skull base (or cranial base ) is the part of the skull (cranium) that supports the brain and separates the brain from the rest of the head. Blood vessels to the brain and nerves from the brain (cranial nerves) run through holes in the skull base. Below the skull base are the nasal passages, sinus cavities, facial bones, and muscles associated with chewing. Traditionally, neurosurgeons treated conditions that arose within the skull and otolaryngologists (ear, nose, and throat doctors or head and neck surgeons) treated conditions that arose in the head outside the skull. Tumors and other diseases that affected the skull base or deep facial tissues were difficult to reach and a collaboration of surgical specialties developed to deal with these problems. Head and neck surgeons and neurosurgeons work together as teams of skull base surgeons.
