Mastoid foramen

Mastoid foramen
Left temporal bone. Inner surface. (Mastoid foramen labeled at bottom left.)
Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Temporal bone is pink, and label for mastoid foramen is at left, second from the bottom.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	foramen mastoideum
Dorlands /Elsevier	f_12/12373281
TA	A02.1.06.008
FMA	53159
Anatomical terms of bone []

The mastoid foramen is a large hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone. It transmits a Mastoid emissary vein to the sigmoid sinus and a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery to the dura mater.

The position and size of this foramen are very variable; it is not always present; sometimes it is situated in the occipital bone, or in the suture between the temporal and the occipital.

It transmits (1) an emissary vein connecting the sigmoid sinus with the posterior auricular vein and (2) a meningeal branch of the occipital artery

Base of skull. Inferior surface.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)