The pterygoid canal (also vidian canal) is a passage in the sphenoid bone of the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

leading from just anterior to the

foramen lacerum The foramen lacerum ( la, lacerated piercing) is a triangular hole in the base of skull. It is located between the sphenoid bone, the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone, and the basilar part of the occipital bone. Structure The foram ...

in the

middle cranial fossa The middle cranial fossa, deeper than the anterior cranial fossa, is narrow medially and widens laterally to the sides of the skull. It is separated from the posterior fossa by the clivus and the petrous crest. It is bounded in front by the pos ...

to the

pterygopalatine fossa In human anatomy, the pterygopalatine fossa (sphenopalatine fossa) is a fossa in the skull. A human skull contains two pterygopalatine fossae—one on the left side, and another on the right side. Each fossa is a cone-shaped paired depression deep ...

Structure

The pterygoid canal runs through the

medial pterygoid plate The pterygoid processes of the sphenoid (from Greek ''pteryx'', ''pterygos'', "wing"), one on either side, descend perpendicularly from the regions where the body and the greater wings of the sphenoid bone unite. Each process consists of a me ...

of the

sphenoid bone The sphenoid bone is an unpaired bone of the neurocranium. It is situated in the middle of the skull towards the front, in front of the basilar part of occipital bone, basilar part of the occipital bone. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones ...

to the back wall of the

It transmits the

nerve of pterygoid canal The nerve of the pterygoid canal (Vidian nerve) is formed by the junction of the greater petrosal nerve and deep petrosal nerve, which passes from the foramen lacerum to the pterygopalatine fossa through the pterygoid canal. Structure The nerve ...

, (Vidian nerve), the

artery of the pterygoid canal The artery of the pterygoid canal (or Vidian artery) is an artery in the pterygoid canal, in the head. It usually arises from the external carotid artery, but can arise from either the internal or external carotid artery or serve as an anastomosi ...

(Vidian artery), and the vein of the pterygoid canal (Vidian vein).

Additional images

File:Gray192.png, Medial wall of left orbit.

External links

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References

Foramina of the skull {{musculoskeletal-stub

Structure

Contents

Additional images

External links

References