Which orbital tumor commonly arises from the sphenoid bone and invades the orbit?

• A. Rhabdomyosarcoma
• B. Meningioma
• C. Capillary hemangioma
• D. Neuroblastoma

Answer: (B)

Sphenoidal wing meningioma is the tumor that fits this pattern. Meningiomas arise from the meninges, and when they form along the sphenoid wing they can erode or hyperostose the adjacent sphenoid bone and extend into the orbit. This invasion into orbital spaces leads to proptosis and possible optic or extraocular muscle involvement, reflecting the tumor’s origin at the sphenoid region and its growth into the orbit.

Rhabdomyosarcoma involves orbital soft tissues, typically presenting as a rapidly enlarging mass in children but not characteristically arising from bone. Capillary hemangioma is a benign vascular lesion of infancy that is usually superficial and not bone-originating. Neuroblastoma metastasizes to the orbit and causes proptosis, often with periorbital ecchymosis, but it does not arise from the sphenoid bone itself and invade the orbit in the same way sphenoidal wing meningioma does.

So the association with origin from the sphenoid region and invasion into the orbit points to a sphenoidal wing meningioma.