[Surgical and functional anatomy of the base of the skull: middle and posterior sections (author's transl)].

There has recently been renewed interest in the anatomy of the base of the skull. In this anatomical introduction, after an osteological description of views and sections of the base of the skull, exo- and endocranial, the author reviews the environment and relations of the endocranial surface, the exocranial surface as well as those of the structures involved in and passing through the skull base. This precise information concerning certain anatomical details is useful in the interpretation of scanner results and in determining the surgical approach to this region.