A cutting element for a drill bit used in drilling subterranean formations is formed with an internal chamber or passage for the flow of drilling fluid therethrough. A substrate having at least one internal passage, and prior to attaching the table thereto, the at least one passage is filled with a removable substantially incompressible filler material. Attachment or bonding of the table to the substrate under high temperature and high pressure is accomplished without significant distortion of the shape and size of the passage. The filler material may be a crystalline salt such as sodium chloride or halite, which are removable by dissolution in water, or may be boron nitride or a volcanic material such as Pyrofolyte material which are mechanically removable.