Infratemporal fossa
| Infratemporal fossa | |
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Left infratemporal fossa.
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| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fossa infratemporalis |
| Dorlands /Elsevier |
f_14/12376096 |
| TA | A02.1.00.024 |
| FMA | 75308 |
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Anatomical terminology
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The infratemporal fossa is an irregularly shaped cavity, situated below and medial to the zygomatic arch. It is not fully enclosed by bone in all directions, and it contains superficial muscles that are visible during dissection after removing skin and fascia: namely, the lower part of the temporalis muscle, the lateral pterygoid, and the medial pterygoid.
Its boundaries may be defined by:
The internal maxillary vessels, consisting of the maxillary artery originating from the external carotid artery and its branches.
Internal maxillary branches found within the infratemporal fossa including the
Mandibular nerve, inferior alveolar nerve, lingual nerve, buccal nerve, chorda tympani nerve, and otic ganglion.
Motor branches:
Its motor fibers innervate all the muscles of mastication plus the mylohyoid, anterior belly of the digastric, and the tensores veli palati and tympani
Sensory innervation:
Infratemporal fossa
Infratemporal fossa. Lingual and inferior alveolar nerve. Deep dissection. Anterolateral view
The foramen ovale and foramen spinosum open on its roof, and the alveolar canals on its anterior wall.
At its upper and medial part are two fissures, which together form a T-shaped fissure, the horizontal limb being named the inferior orbital, and the vertical one the pterygomaxillary.
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
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