Pterygopalatine fossa

left maxillary sinus - opened from the outside

left palate and upper jaw

both sides - from the front

...

Pterygopalatine fossa (outlined in blue) and pterygopalatine ganglion in dogs

The pterygopalatine fossa (winged palatine fossa ) is a bony-limited pit (Latin fossa ) on the skull .

Limits

It has the following limits:

Forward (anterior): Maxilla (Facies infratemporalis)
backwards (posterior) and upwards (cranial): Os sphenoidale (Processus pterygoideus)
to the middle (medial): Os palatinum (perpendicular plate)
downwards (caudal): it narrows to the palatine canal major
Lateral: pterygomaxillary fissure (passage of the maxillary artery, going from the infratemporal fossa to the pterygopalatine fossa)

The pterygopalatine fossa has connections to other parts of the skull:

to the front (anterior) - via the inferior orbital fissure - to the orbit
downwards (inferior) - over the palatine canal - to the oral cavity and the canali palatini minoris
to the outside (lateral) - via the pterygomaxillary fissure - to the infratemporal fossa
to the inside (medial) - via the perpendicular plate of the palatine bone with the sphenopalatine foramen - to the nasal cavity
to the rear (posterior) - over the foramen rotundum - to the fossa cranii media
backwards (posterior) - via the palatovaginal canal (pharyngealis) - to the nasal cavity ( nasopharynx )
to the rear (posterior) - over the pterygoid canal (Vidi nerve) - fossa cranii media and foramen lacerum

The following anatomical structures are found in the pterygopalatine fossa:

Pterygopalatine ganglion (with connection to the maxillary nerve )
the third section of the maxillary artery (pars pterygopalatina)
Nerve in the pterygoid canal (N. petrosus major (parasympathetic) and N. petrosus profundus (sympathetic) = N. canalis pterygoideus)