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Jugular foramen

 
Sci-Tech Dictionary: jugular foramen
(′jəg·yə·lər fə′rā·mən)

(anatomy) An opening in the cranium formed by the jugular notches of the occipital and temporal bones for passage of an internal jugular vein, the ninth, tenth, and eleventh cranial nerves, and the inferior petrosal sinus.


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Medical Dictionary: jugular foramen
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n.

A passage between the temporal bone and the occipital bone, containing the internal jugular vein, the inferior petrosal sinus, the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves, and the meningeal branches of the ascending pharyngeal and occipital arteries.

Wikipedia: Jugular foramen
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Jugular foramen
Foramenjugulare.PNG
Base of skull. Inferior surface. (label for jugular foramen is at right, third from the bottom)
Gray's subject #46 181

The jugular foramen is a large aperture in the base of the skull. It is located behind the carotid canal and is formed in front by the petrous portion of the temporal, and behind by the occipital; it is generally larger on the right than on the left side

Contents

Contents

The jugular foramen may be subdivided into three compartments, each with their own contents.

An alternative imaging based subclassification exist, using the jugular spine, which is a bony ridge partially separating the jugular foramen, into two parts.

  • The smaller, anteromedial, "pars nervosa" compartment contains CN9, Jacobson nerve (or the tympanic nerve, a branch of CN9), and receives the venous return from inferior petrosal sinus.
  • The larger, posterolateral, "pars vascularis" compartment contains CN10, CN11, Arnold's nerve (or the auricular branch of CN10 involved in the Arnold's reflex, where external auditory meatus stimulation causes caugh), jugular bulb, posterior meningeal artery (branch of vertebral artery), and meningeal branch of ascending pharyngeal artery.

Clinical significance

Obstruction can result in "Vernet's syndrome".[1][2]

Additional images

References

External links

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.



 
 

 

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