Pterygopalatine fossa

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Bone: Pterygopalatine fossa
Left maxillary sinus opened from the exterior.
Old human skull with entrance to pterygopalatine fossa marked in purple
Latin	fossa pterygopalatina
Gray's	subject #41 166
Dorlands / Elsevier	f_14/12376574

The pterygopalatine fossa is a fossa in the skull. It is the indented area medial to the pterygomaxillary fissure leading into the sphenopalatine foramen.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Passages 3 Contents 4 See also 5 Additional images 6 External links

[edit] Boundaries

It has the following boundaries:

• anterior: superomedial part of the infratemporal surface of maxilla
• posterior: root of the pterygoid process and adjoining anterior surface of the greater wing of sphenoid bone
• medial: perpendicular plate of the palatine bone and its orbital sphenoidal processes
• lateral: pterygomaxillary fissure
• inferior: part of the floor is formed by the pyramidal process of the palatine bone.

[edit] Passages

The following passages connect the fossa with other parts of the skull:

Direction	Passage	Connection
Posteriorly	foramen rotundum	middle cranial fossa
Posteriorly	pterygoid canal (Vidian)	middle cranial fossa, foramen lacerum
Posteriorly	palatovaginal canal (pharyngeal)	nasal cavity/nasopharynx
Anteriorly	inferior orbital fissure	orbit
Medially	sphenopalatine foramen	nasal cavity
Laterally	pterygomaxillary fissure	infratemporal fossa
Inferiorly	greater palatine canal (pterygopalatine)	oral cavity, lesser palatine canals

[edit] Contents

The pterygopalatine fossa contains

• the pterygopalatine ganglion suspended by nerve roots from the maxillary nerve
• the third part of the maxillary artery
• the nerve of the pterygoid canal

[edit] See also

• Pterygopalatine canal

[edit] Additional images

Alveolar branches of superior maxillary nerve and pterygopalatine ganglion.

The pterygopalatine ganglion and its branches.

Fossa pterygopalatina

Pteryopalatinahd

[edit] External links

• Image at tufts.edu

v • d • e Bones of head and neck: cranial sutures, fontanelles, and related regions Cranial sutures Cranial: Frontoethmoidal - Frontal or Metopic (Frontal/Frontal) - Coronal (Frontal/Parietal) - Occipitomastoid (Occipital/Temporal) - Lambdoid (Parietal/Temporal) - Sagittal (Parietal/Parietal) - Sphenoethmoidal - Sphenofrontal - Sphenoparietal - Sphenosquamosal (Sphenoid/Temporal) - Sphenopetrosal (Sphenoid/Temporal) -Squamosal (Temporal/Parietal) - Petrosquamous (Temporal/Temporal) Facial: Palatomaxillary suture Cranial-facial: Sphenozygomatic - Zygomaticotemporal - Zygomaticofrontal Fontanelles Anterior fontanelle - Posterior fontanelle - Sphenoidal fontanelle - Mastoid fontanelle Foramina of multiple bones Inferior orbital fissure - Foramen lacerum - Jugular foramen - Nasolacrimal canal Fossae Anterior cranial fossa - Middle cranial fossa - Posterior cranial fossa - Cranial cavity Other compound structures Cranial: Asterion - Pterion - Calvaria - Stephanion - Bregma - Lambda Facial: Nasion Cranial-facial: Dacryon - Zygomatic arch - Temporal fossa - Infratemporal fossa - Pterygomaxillary fissure - Pterygopalatine fossa