The pharyngeal tubercle is a part of the

occipital bone The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the ce ...

of the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

and

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

. It is located on the lower surface of the

basilar part of occipital bone The basilar part of the occipital bone (also basioccipital) extends forward and upward from the foramen magnum, and presents in front an area more or less quadrilateral in outline. In the young skull this area is rough and uneven, and is joined t ...

. It is the site of attachment of the

pharyngeal raphe The pharyngeal raphe is a raphe that serves as the origin and insertion for several of the pharyngeal constrictors (thyropharyngeal part of the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle, middle pharyngeal constrictor muscle, superior pharyngeal constr ...

Structure

The pharyngeal tubercle is located on the lower surface of the

. This about 1 cm anterior to the

foramen magnum The foramen magnum ( la, great hole) is a large, oval-shaped opening in the occipital bone of the skull. It is one of the several oval or circular openings (foramina) in the base of the skull. The spinal cord, an extension of the medulla oblonga ...

Function

The pharyngeal tubercle gives attachment to the fibrous

raphe Raphe (; from Greek ῥαφή, "seam"Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press.) has several diffe ...

of the

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struct ...

, also known as the

. This connects with the

superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle The superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle is a muscle in the pharynx. It is the highest located muscle of the three pharyngeal constrictors. The muscle is a quadrilateral muscle, thinner and paler than the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle ...

References

External links

* * Bones of the head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub

Structure

Function

See also

References

External links