The internal surface supports the occipital lobe of the cerebrum. It is
marked by a rounded groove (=h=) which is parallel with the lateral
surface of the body. The dorsal margin of the groove projects mediad in
the form of a sharp ridge which is broadest caudad, where it often
reaches nearly to the posterior clinoid process. The groove passes
craniad into three foramina. The first (cranial) of these, the =orbital
fissure= (_i_), is large and lies between the wing, the body, and the
pterygoid process. It is incomplete, but is completed by the
presphenoid. The second foramen is small and rounded; it is the =foramen
rotundum= (_j_). The third, =foramen ovale= (_k_), is larger and oval
and penetrates the wing through about the middle of its longitudinal
axis. Another minute foramen penetrates the sphenoid between the wing
and the body of the bone, just laterad of the tuberculum sellæ. This
foramen is continuous craniad with a groove on the dorsal surface of the
pterygoid process; the groove and foramen constitute the =pterygoid
canal=. It transmits a nerve.
The external surface shows the orbital fissure, the foramen rotundum and
the foramen ovale, bounded ventrally by a sharp ridge, which is
continued onto the pterygoid process. Between this ridge and the body
the surface is longitudinally grooved for the tuba auditiva or
Eustachian tube.
The semicircular margin of the bone articulates with the squamous
portion of the temporal. At the junction of its caudal and middle third
there is sometimes a toothlike projection which underlies the root of
the zygoma.
The whole of the cranial margin, except the lateral end, articulates
with the wing of the presphenoid. At this end the angle formed by the
junction of lateral and cranial borders is produced into a flat process,
which passes dorsocaudad between the squamous portion of the temporal
and the frontal, and articulates by the roughened internal surface of
its free end with a similar process from the parietal.
The caudal margin laterad of the groove is bevelled and roughened at the
expense of the dorsal surface and is overlaid by the ventral end of the
tentorium. Mediad of the groove it projects caudad as a slender point,
the =lingula= of the sphenoid. This is received into a narrow cleft
between the apex of the petrous bone and the bulla tympani.
The pterygoid process (_c_) is a nearly square, thin plate of bone. The
medial surface is smooth and concave, the lateral face is convex and
marked by two parallel ridges. The medial one of these is continued
craniad from the bony septum which separates the orbital fissure from
the foramen rotundum, and the lateral one from the septum which
separates the foramen rotundum from the foramen ovale. A sharp
triangular spine projects laterad from near the caudal end of the
lateral ridge.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account