Corpus: Middle cranial fossa
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This text has been translated by an AI and may sound raw. It will be reviewed shortly. Thank you for your patience!
Synonym: middle cranial fossa
English:
Definition[Bearbeiten]
The middle cranial fossa is a roughly butterfly-shaped depression in the base of the skull that is part of the cranial cavity.
Anatomy[Bearbeiten]
The middle cranial fossa is formed by the large wings of the sphenoid bone (os sphenoidale), the pars squamosa of the temporal bone (os temporale) and the parietal bone (os parietale). It is located lower than the anterior cranial fossa and is characterised by a narrow middle section with two flared ends.
Its anterior borders are the posterior edges of the small sphenoid wings and the jugum sphenoidale, or the two processus clinoidei anteriores, which also represent the border to the anterior fossa (fossa cranii anterior).
The posterior boundary of the middle cranial fossa is formed by the superior bony edge of the temporal bone (pars petrosa ossis temporalis) and the dorsum sellae.
The middle cranial fossa harbours the two temporal lobes (lobus temporalis) of the brain. The sulci of the temporal lobe are visible as juga cerebralia in the bone, the gyri as impressiones digitatae.
Openings[Bearbeiten]
In the middle cranial fossa there are numerous openings for anatomical structures that leave or enter the cranial cavity:
- Canalis opticus
- Canalis caroticus
- Fissura orbitalis superior
- Foramen lacerum
- Foramen ovale
- Foramen rotundum
- Foramen spinosum