| Mastoid foramen | |
|---|---|
Left temporal bone. Inner surface. (Mastoid foramen labeled at bottom left.)
| |
Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Temporal bone is pink, and label for mastoid foramen is at left, second from the bottom.)
| |
| Details | |
| Part of | Temporal boneofskull |
| System | Skeletal |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | foramen mastoideum |
| TA98 | A02.1.06.008 |
| TA2 | 649 |
| FMA | 53159 |
| Anatomical terms of bone | |
The mastoid foramen is a hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone. It transmits an emissary vein between the sigmoid sinus and the suboccipital venous plexus, and a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery to the dura mater.
The mastoid foramen is a hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone of the skull.[1]
The opening of the mastoid foramen is an average of 18 mm from the asterion,[2] and around 34 mm from the external auditory meatus.[3] It is typically very narrow.[1][3] This may be around 2 mm.[3]
The position and size of this foramen are very variable.[1][3] It is not always present.[1][3] Sometimes, it is duplicated on one side or both sides.[1] Sometimes, it is situated in the occipital bone, or in the suture between the temporal bone and the occipital bone.
The mastoid foramen transmits:
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 141 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
|
Neurocranium of the skull
| |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occipital |
| ||||||||||
| Parietal |
| ||||||||||
| Frontal |
| ||||||||||
| Temporal |
| ||||||||||
| Sphenoid |
| ||||||||||
| Ethmoid |
| ||||||||||
|
| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anterior cranial fossa |
| ||||||||
| Middle cranial fossa |
| ||||||||
| Posterior cranial fossa |
| ||||||||
| Orbit |
| ||||||||
| Pterygopalatine fossa |
| ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Other |
| ||||||||
