Pterygopalatine fossa
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pterygopalatine fossa
(¦ter·ə·gō′pal·ə′tēn ′fäs·ə)
(anatomy) The gap between the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone and the maxilla and palatine bone.
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Pterygopalatine fossa
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Pterygopalatine fossa
| Bone: Pterygopalatine fossa | |
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| Left maxillary sinus opened from the exterior. | |
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| Old human skull with entrance to pterygopalatine fossa marked in purple | |
| Latin | fossa pterygopalatina |
| Gray's | subject #41 166 |
The pterygopalatine fossa is a fossa in the skull. It is the indented area medial to the pterygomaxillary fissure leading into the sphenopalatine foramen.
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Contents
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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.
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 |
Contents
The pterygopalatine fossa contains
- the pterygopalatine ganglion suspended by nerve roots from the maxillary nerve
- the terminal third of the maxillary artery
- the maxillary nerve (CN V2, the second division of the trigeminal nerve), with which is the nerve of the pterygoid canal, a combination of the greater petrosal nerve (preganglionic parasympathetic) and the deep petrosal nerve (postganglionic sympathetic). To obtain block anesthesia of the entire second division of the trigeminal nerve, an intraoral injection can be administered into this area.
See also
Additional images
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Alveolar branches of superior maxillary nerve and pterygopalatine ganglion.
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The pterygopalatine ganglion and its branches.
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Fossa pterygopalatina
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Pterygopalatine fossa
External links
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McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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