The cribriform plate is the horizontal portion of the ethmoid bone forming the roof of the nasal cavity and part of the anterior cranial fossa floor. It is perforated by numerous small foramina through which the olfactory nerve filaments (fila olfactoria) of cranial nerve I pass from the olfactory epithelium to the olfactory bulbs above. The crista galli projects superiorly from its midline, and the dura mater attaches firmly to the plate.
The cribriform plate is the thinnest part of the anterior skull base and the most common site of CSF rhinorrhea after head trauma. Anosmia following head injury results from shearing of the olfactory nerve filaments through the cribriform foramina. Anterior skull base meningiomas arise from the dura overlying the cribriform plate, presenting with anosmia and visual symptoms. Endoscopic skull base surgery approaches the cribriform plate for repair of CSF leaks and resection of olfactory groove tumours.
Anterior skull base fracture through the cribriform plate from frontal impact produces CSF rhinorrhea (clear nasal discharge that glucose tests positive), anosmia from olfactory filament shearing, and the risk of meningitis from a persistent dural-nasal fistula, requiring endoscopic repair if the leak does not resolve spontaneously.
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