Pterygoid fossa
Depression in the sphenoid bone of the skull
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The pterygoid fossa is an anatomical term for the fossa formed by the divergence of the lateral pterygoid plate and the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone.
| Pterygoid fossa | |
|---|---|
Sphenoid bone. Upper and posterior surfaces. (Pterygoid fossa labeled at left.) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fossa pterygoidea ossis sphenoidalis |
| TA98 | A02.1.05.046 |
| TA2 | 632 |
| FMA | 84970 |
| Anatomical terms of bone | |
Structure
The lateral and medial pterygoid plates (of the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone) diverge behind and enclose between them a V-shaped fossa, the pterygoid fossa. This fossa faces posteriorly, and contains the medial pterygoid muscle and the tensor veli palatini muscle.
See also
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 151 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
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