Pterygopalatine fossa
| Pterygopalatine fossa | |
|---|---|
Left maxillary sinus opened from the exterior.
|
|
Human skull with entrance to pterygopalatine fossa marked in purple
|
|
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fossa pterygopalatina |
| Dorlands /Elsevier |
f_14/12376574 |
| TA | A02.1.00.025 |
| FMA | 75309 |
|
Anatomical terms of bone
[]
|
|
In human anatomy, the pterygopalatine fossa (sphenopalatine fossa) is a fossa in the skull. A human skull contains two pterygopalatine fossae -- one on the left side, and another on the right side. Each fossa is a cone-shaped paired depression deep to the infratemporal fossa and posterior to the maxilla on each side of the skull, located between the pterygoid process and the maxillary tuberosity, close to the apex of the orbit. It is the indented area medial to the pterygomaxillary fissure leading into the sphenopalatine foramen. It communicates with the nasal and oral cavities, infratemporal fossa, orbit, pharynx, and middle cranial fossa through eight foramina.
It has the following boundaries:
The following passages connect the fossa with other parts of the skull:
The pterygopalatine fossa contains
...
Wikipedia