anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
animals
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
typically allow
nerves
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system.
A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...
,
arteries
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...
, veins, or other structures to connect one part of the body with another.
Skull
The
skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...
s of
vertebrates
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
have foramina through which
nerves
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system.
A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...
,
arteries
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...
, veins, and other structures pass. For example, a human
skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...
vertebral column
The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordate ...
(spine) of vertebrates, including the
human spine
The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates ...
, each bone has an opening at both its top and bottom to allow nerves, arteries, veins, etc. to pass through.
Other
*
Apical foramen
In dental anatomy, the apical foramen, literally translated "small opening of the apex," is the tooth's natural opening, found at the root's very tip—that is, the root's apex—whereby an artery, vein, and nerve enter the tooth and commingle w ...
, the hole at the tip of the root of a tooth
* Foramen ovale (heart), a hole between the venous and arterial sides of the fetal heart
* Transverse foramen, one of a pair of openings in each cervical vertebra, in which the vertebral artery travels
*
Greater sciatic foramen
The greater sciatic foramen is an opening (foramen) in the posterior human pelvis. It is formed by the sacrotuberous and sacrospinous ligaments. The piriformis muscle passes through the foramen and occupies most of its volume. The greater sci ...
, a major foramen of the pelvis
* Interventricular foramina, channels connecting ventricles in the brain
*
Lesser sciatic foramen
The lesser sciatic foramen is an opening (foramen) between the pelvis and the back of the thigh. The foramen is formed by the sacrotuberous ligament which runs between the sacrum and the ischial tuberosity and the sacrospinous ligament which runs ...
Vertebral foramen
In a typical vertebra, the vertebral foramen is the foramen (opening) formed by the anterior segment (the body), and the posterior part, the vertebral arch.
The vertebral foramen begins at cervical vertebra #1 (C1 or atlas) and continues inferio ...
, the foramen formed by the anterior segment (the body), and the posterior part, the vertebral arch.
* Foramen of Panizza, a hole connecting two aortas just after they leave the heart in crocodiles.
See also
*
Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae (η Carinae, abbreviated to η Car), formerly known as Eta Argus, is a stellar system containing at least two stars with a combined luminosity greater than five million times that of the Sun, located around distant in th ...