Temporal, transverse and pterygopalatine fossa

The temporal fossa , fossa temporalis, is located on each side on the lateral outer surface of the skull .

The temporal fossa

The conditional boundary separating it from above and behind from other parts of the cranial vault is the upper temporal line, linea temporalis superior, parietal and frontal bones . Its internal, medial wall is formed by the lower part of the outer surface of the parietal bone in the region of the wedge-shaped angle, the temporal surface of the scaly part of the temporal bone and the outer surface of the large wing. The anterior wall is composed of the zygomatic bone and the segment of the frontal bone behind the upper temporal line. Outside the temporal fossa is closed by the zygomatic arch, arcus zygomaticus. The lower edge of the temporal fossa is limited by the sphenoid crest of the sphenoid bone
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On the anterior wall of the temporal fossa there is a cheek-shaped hole, foramen zygomaticotemporale (the temporal fovea is made by the temporal muscle, fascia, fat, vessels and nerves).

The pit

The subterranean fossa, fossa infratemporalis, is shorter and already temporal, but the transverse dimension is larger. Its upper wall is formed by the surface of a large wing of the sphenoid bone inside the trailing crest.
The anterior wall is the posterior part of the upper jawbone . The medial wall is represented by the lateral plate of the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone. Outside and below the pedicle fossa does not have a bone wall, on the side it is restricted by a branch of the lower jaw. On the border between the anterior and medial walls, the pterygoal fossa deepens and passes into the funnel-shaped cleft-the pterygopalatine fossa, the fossa pterygopalatina.

Ahead of the inframammary fossa through the lower orbital gap communicates with the cavity of the orbit .

The pterygo-palatine fossa

The pterygo-palatine fossa, fossa pterygopalatina, is formed by the areas of the maxilla, wedge and palatine bones . With the pterygoal fissure, it is connected by a wide-top and narrow downward pterygo-maxillary slit, fissura pterygo-maxillaris. The walls of the pterygo-palatine fossa are: in front - the transverse surface of the upper jaw, facies infratemporalis maxillae, on which the upper jawbone is located, behind it is the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone, the medial outer surface of the perpendicular wall of the palatine bone, on top - the maxillary surface of the large wing of the sphenoid bone.

In the upper part, the pterygo-palatine fossa communicates with the orbit through the inferior orbital fissure, with the nasal cavity through the wedge-palatine opening, with the cavity of the skull through the round hole, foramen rotundum, and through the canopic duct, the canalis pterygoideus with the outer surface of the skull base and Externally it passes into the inframammary fossa.

The wedge-palatine foramen, foramen sphenopalatinum, is closed on the uncertified skull by the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity (a series of nerves and arteries pass through the opening into the nasal cavity ). In the lower part, the pterygoid palatine fossa passes into a narrow canal, the formation of the upper part of which involves large palatine fissures of the upper jaw, palatine bone and pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone, and the lower part consists only of the superior jaw and palatine bone.

The canal is called the large palatal canal, canalis palatinus major, and opens on the hard palate with large and small palatine orifices, foramen palatinum majus et foramina palatina minora (nerves and vessels pass through the canal).

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