What is sphenopalatine fossa?
The pterygopalatine fossa (PPF), less commonly known as the sphenopalatine fossa, is a small but complex space of the deep face in the shape of an inverted pyramid located between the maxillary bone anteriorly, the pterygoid process posteriorly, and orbital apex superiorly.
Where is the sphenopalatine fossa?
The sphenopalatine foramen is a foramen in the skull that connects the nasal cavity with the pterygopalatine fossa….
| Sphenopalatine foramen | |
|---|---|
| Left palatine bone. Posterior aspect. Enlarged. (Sphenopalatine foramen labeled in upper right.) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | foramen sphenopalatinum |
What passes through the sphenopalatine foramen?
Nasopalatine Nerve It travels through the sphenopalatine foramen to enter the nasal cavity and crosses its roof to reach the nasal septum. It descends in an oblique direction anteroinferiorly between the periosteum and mucous membrane of the nasal septum within a groove on the vomer bone.
What is the clinical significance of the pterygopalatine fossa?
Because of its location and associated connections, the pterygopalatine fossa is often involved in the spread of tumours, infections, and inflammations caused by neoplastic diseases in the head and neck (such as juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, bacterial sinusitis, etc.).
What is a fossa in anatomy?
Fossa – A shallow depression in the bone surface. Here it may receive another articulating bone or act to support brain structures. Examples include trochlear fossa, posterior, middle, and anterior cranial fossa.
Is sphenopalatine fossa and pterygopalatine fossa?
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.
What is fossa in anatomy?
What is the infratemporal fossa?
The infratemporal fossa is an irregular space at the lateral aspect of the skull. As its name suggests, it is situated just inferior to the temporal fossa and deep to the ramus of the mandible. The temporal and infratemporal fossae communicate with each other through the opening deep to the zygomatic arch.
What is sphenopalatine neuralgia?
Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) neuralgia is a complex disease characterized by chronic head and neck pain, often accompanied by autonomic features. Although symptoms are highly variable, patients typically experience dull headaches associated with pain in the maxillary arch and teeth.
What is a fossa in the skull?
The anterior cranial fossa is a depression in the floor of the cranial base which houses the projecting frontal lobes of the brain.
Where is fossa located?
a. Fossa: a depressed area; usually broad and shallow. The olecranon fossa is located on the posterior surface of the distal humerus, where it receives the proximal ulna during full extension of the arm.
What structures are located in the infratemporal fossa?
The infratemporal fossa contains the mandibular nerve, the inferior alveolar nerve, the lingual nerve, the buccal nerve, the chorda tympani nerve, and the otic ganglion.
Why is the infratemporal fossa important?
Nerves coursing through and around the infratemporal fossa are responsible for providing a vast majority of sensory and motor function to the lower face and other important structures such as the dura mater.
What part of the brain is in the middle cranial fossa?
temporal lobes
The middle cranial fossa is a butterfly-shaped depression of the skull base, which is narrow in the middle and wider laterally. It houses the temporal lobes of the cerebrum.
What does fossa in anatomy mean?
depression
Medical Definition of fossa : an anatomical pit, groove, or depression the temporal fossa of the skull the fossa in the liver for the gallbladder. Other Words from fossa.
What is the sphenopalatine foramen (SPF)?
The sphenopalatine foramen (SPF) represents an opening on the lateral nasal wall that is present at the articulation between the superior aspect of the vertical portion of the palatine bone and the inferior projection of the sphenoid bone.[1]
Where do the posterior lateral and posterior septal branches of the sphenopalatine?
In transnasal endoscopic surgery, the posterior lateral nasal branches of the sphenopalatine artery appear at the triangle’s inferomedial edge, the posterior septal branches emerge at its superior edge.
How does the pterygopalatine fossa communicate with the middle cranial fossa?
posteriorly and inferiorly: communicates with the middle cranial fossa via the vidian canal (also known as pterygoid canal ), which transmits the vidian nerve , vidian artery and vidian vein. The pterygopalatine fossa contains fat and the following neurovascular structures:
What does the sphenopalatine artery supply?
Sphenopalatine artery (SPA) – a terminal branch of the internal maxillary artery (branch of the external carotid artery). The sphenopalatine artery is the dominant blood supply to the posterior mucosa of the nasal cavity.