In human anatomy, the pterygopalatine fossa (sphenopalatine fossa) is a fossa in the

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

. 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 In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

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 The pterygomaxillary fissure is a fissure of the human skull. It is vertical, and descends at right angles from the medial end of the inferior orbital fissure. It is a triangular interval, formed by the divergence of the maxilla from the pterygoi ...

leading into the sphenopalatine foramen. It communicates with the nasal and oral cavities, infratemporal fossa, orbit, pharynx, and middle cranial fossa through eight

foramina In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (; : foramina, or foramens ; ) is an opening or enclosed gap within the dense connective tissue (bones and deep fasciae) of extant and extinct amniote animals, typically to allow passage of nerves, arter ...

Structure

Boundaries

It has the following boundaries: * ''anterior'': superomedial part of the infratemporal surface of

* ''posterior'': root of the pterygoid process and adjoining anterior surface of the greater wing of

sphenoid bone The sphenoid bone is an unpaired bone of the neurocranium. It is situated in the middle of the skull towards the front, in front of the basilar part of occipital bone, basilar part of the occipital bone. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bon ...

* ''medial'': perpendicular plate of the

palatine bone In anatomy, the palatine bones (; derived from the Latin ''palatum'') are two irregular bones of the facial skeleton in many animal species, located above the uvula in the throat. Together with the maxilla, they comprise the hard palate. Stru ...

and its orbital and sphenoidal processes * ''lateral'':

* ''inferior'': part of the floor is formed by the pyramidal process of the palatine bone.

Passages

The following passages connect the fossa with other parts of the skull:

Functions

The pterygopalatine fossa contains * the pterygopalatine ganglion suspended by nerve roots from the

maxillary nerve In neuroanatomy, the maxillary nerve (V) is one of the three branches or divisions of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth (CN V) cranial nerve. It comprises the principal functions of Sense, sensation from the maxilla, nasal cavity, Sinus (anatomy ...

* the terminal third of the

maxillary artery The maxillary artery (eg, internal maxillary artery) supplies deep structures of the face. It branches from the external carotid artery just deep to the neck of the mandible. Structure The maxillary artery, the larger of the two terminal branches ...

* the maxillary nerve (CN V₂, the second division of the trigeminal nerve), with which is the nerve of the pterygoid canal, a combination of the greater petrosal nerve (preganglionic

parasympathetic The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is one of the three divisions of the autonomic nervous system, the others being the sympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for regulat ...

) and the deep petrosal nerve (postganglionic sympathetic). To obtain block anesthesia of the entire second division of the trigeminal nerve, an intraoral injection can be administered into this area.

Additional images

References

External links

Interactive at Columbia.edu
{{Authority control Bones of the head and neck