The endonasal approach is underemployed despite its demonstrated benefits to the patient because existing surgical instruments have limited dexterity and approach angles, and simultaneously manipulating several of them through a nostril while performing complex surgical procedures is so technically challenging that only a small number of expert surgeons can accomplish it. Even for these experts, mortality rates are non-negligible (0.9%), and there remain contraindications to the endonasal approach, including occlusion of the surgical site by delicate and critical neurovascular structures (e.g. carotid arteries, optic nerves), inability to fully reconstruct the dura due to lack of surgical tool dexterity, and long surgical duration. All of these contraindications are directly related to limitations in instrument dexterity and visualization, which motivates the development of a robotic system for endonasal skull base surgery. Such a robot can potentially increase surgical dexterity and reduce the technical complexity of the procedure for surgeons, thereby increasing the percentage of patient who benefit from the endonasal technique.