Infratemporal fossa
The infratemporal fossa (also known as the lower sleeping pit) is an irregularly shaped pit below the temporal fossa , located medial to the branch of the lower jaw . It contains, among other things, superficial mastication muscles and the parasympathetic otic ganglion , in which fibers from the ninth cranial nerve, the glossopharyngeal nerve , are switched. The temporal bone , sphenoid bone and the maxillary bone are predominantly involved in their formation .
Limitations
The infratemporal fossa is bounded by the following structures:
| direction | structure |
|---|---|
| lateral | Ramus mandibulae and arcus zygomaticus |
| medial | Pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone |
| cranial | Ala major of the os sphenoidale and pars squamosa of the os temporale |
| ventral | Tuber maxillae |
| dorsal | Articular tuberosity of the temporal bone and angular spine of the sphenoid bone |
The infratemporal fossa is open towards the bottom (caudal).
content
The infratemporal fossa is mainly filled by the Bichat fat plug (corpus adiposum buccae) and the wing muscles used for chewing ( M. pterygoideus medialis and M. pterygoideus lateralis ).
The maxillary artery and its branches (in front of the entry into the pterygopalatine fossa), the pterygoid venous plexus, the mandibular nerve with its branching point and the otic ganglion are also located in this pit.
It should be noted that the pterygoid venous plexus is connected to the cavernous sinus by small emissary veins . As a result, germs can be carried over in the event of a tooth infection and a cavernous sinus thrombosis can develop.
links
The infratemporal fossa has connections to the following structures:
The temporal fossa is located directly cranially .
There are accesses to the middle cranial fossa via foramen ovale (contains N. mandibularis and V. foraminis ovalis), foramen spinosum (contains R. meningeus of N. mandibularis and vasa meningea media) and foramen lacerum (contains N. petrosus major and minor).
A connection to the pterygopalatine fossa is established via the pterygomaxillary fissure (contains the superior posterior alveolar nerve) . The pterygopalatine fossa, in turn, provides an access path to the eye socket via the inferior orbital fissure .
swell
- G. Aumüller et alii: Duale Reihe Anatomie, 3rd edition, Thieme, 2014
- U. Bommas-Ebert et alii: Kurzlehrbuch Anatomie und Embryologie, 3rd edition, Thieme, 2011