The superior orbital fissure, the connection of the orbit with the middle cranial fossa, is contained between the greater wing, the lesser wing and the lateral side of the body of the sphenoid bone. Its clinical significance is due to the nerves and blood vessels passing through, as well as the possibility of microsurgical access to the middle cranial fossa and the cavernous sinus. The aim of this study was to determine the morphometric parameters of the superior orbital fissure in Serbian population, and to determine whether there was significant difference between the left and right side of the body and between sexes. The sample consisted of 30 human skulls (15 female and 15 male) from the osteological collection of the Department of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad. The photographs of the superior orbital fissures were taken, and had been inserted in ImageJ 1.48v software. We measured their length and width, and defined their shape. The average length of the superior orbital fissure in our sample was 12.47 mm, and the average fissure width was 5.36 mm. We defined ten morphological types of superior orbital fissures (I-X). Type II was the most common type (22 %), and type VI of superior orbital fissure type was the least common (2 %). The dimensions of the superior orbital fissure in our study are statistically significantly different from the values in our population previously determined by other researchers. The length of the superior orbital fissure of our sample coincides most closely with the study of the Polish population, and the average value of the fissure width is statistically significantly higher than the one in the Korean population. There is no statistically significant difference in distribution of morphological forms of superior orbital fissure in relation to sex and side of the body.

KEY WORDS: Superior orbital fissure; Morphological types; Morphometry; Human skull.