anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, a fossa (; : fossae ( or ); ) is a depression or hollow, usually in a

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

, such as the hypophyseal fossa (the depression in 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 bon ...

).Venieratos D, Anagnostopoulou S, Garidou A., A new morphometric method for the sella turcica and the hypophyseal fossa and its clinical relevance.;Folia Morphol (Warsz). 2005 Nov;64(4):240-7. Some examples include: In the skull: * Cranial fossa ** Anterior cranial fossa ** Middle cranial fossa ***

Interpeduncular fossa The interpeduncular fossa is a deep depression of the ventral surface of the midbrain between the two cerebral crus, cerebal crura. It has been found in humans and macaques, but not in rats or mice, showing that this is a relatively new evolutiona ...

** Posterior cranial fossa * Hypophyseal fossa * Temporal bone fossa ** Mandibular fossa ** Jugular fossa * Infratemporal fossa * Pterygopalatine fossa * Pterygoid fossa * Lacrimal fossa ** Fossa for lacrimal gland ** Fossa for lacrimal sac * Scaphoid fossa * Condyloid fossa * Rhomboid fossa In the

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

: * Retromolar fossa In the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

: * Fossa ovalis (heart) * Infraclavicular fossa * Pyriform fossa * Substernal fossa *

Iliac fossa The iliac fossa is a large, smooth, concave surface on the internal surface of the Ilium (bone), ilium (part of the three fused bones making the hip bone). Structure The iliac fossa is bounded above by the iliac crest, and below by the Arcuate ...

* Ovarian fossa * Paravesical fossa * Coccygeal fossa * Fossa navicularis ** Navicular fossa of male urethra ** Fossa of vestibule of vagina * Ischioanal fossa In the upper limb: * Supraclavicular fossa * Radial fossa * On the scapula: ** Glenoid fossa ** Supraspinous fossa ** Infraspinous fossa ** Subscapular fossa * Cubital fossa (a.k.a. Antecubital fossa or chelidon) * Olecranon fossa In the lower limb: * Fossa ovalis (thigh) * Trochanteric fossa * Acetabular fossa * Popliteal fossa * Intercondyloid fossa ** Anterior intercondyloid fossa **

Posterior intercondyloid fossa Posterior may refer to: * Posterior (anatomy), the end of an organism opposite to anterior ** Buttocks, as a euphemism * Posterior horn (disambiguation) * Posterior probability The posterior probability is a type of conditional probability th ...

* Intercondylar fossa of femur

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See also

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