Stylomastoid foramen

Stylomastoid foramen
Base of skull. Inferior surface. Pink region is temporal bone, and stylomastoid foramen is in black circle at center of pink region.
Left temporal bone. Inferior surface. (Stylomastoid foramen is third label from the bottom on the left.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	foramen stylomastoideum
Dorlands /Elsevier	f_12/12373728
TA	A02.1.06.048
FMA	55816
Anatomical terms of bone []

Between the styloid and mastoid processes of the temporal bone is the stylomastoid foramen

It is the termination of the facial canal, and transmits the facial nerve and stylomastoid artery.

Bell's palsy can result from inflammation of the facial nerve where it leaves the skull at the stylomastoid foramen. Patients with Bell's palsy appear with facial drooping on the affected side.

Facial canal

Lateral head anatomy detail.Facial nerve dissection.

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