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The pterygoid fossa is an
anatomical
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the 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 science, having it ...
term for the fossa formed by the divergence of the lateral 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 ...
and 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 ...
.
Structure
The lateral and medial pterygoid plates (of thepterygoid process
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 ...
) diverge behind and enclose between them a V-shaped fossa, the pterygoid fossa. This fossa faces posteriorly, and contains the medial pterygoid muscle
The medial pterygoid muscle (or internal pterygoid muscle), is a thick, quadrilateral muscle of the face. It is supplied by the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve (V). It is important in mastication (chewing).
Structure
The medial ptery ...
and the tensor veli palatini
The tensor veli palatini muscle (tensor palati or tensor muscle of the velum palatinum) is a broad, thin, ribbon-like muscle in the head that tenses the soft palate.
Structure
The tensor veli palatini is found anterior-lateral to the levator ve ...
muscle.
See also
*Pterygoid fovea
The pterygoid fovea (occasionally called the pterygoid pit or the pterygoid depression) is located on the mandible. It is a concave surface on the medial side of the neck of the condyloid process of the mandible. It is located posterior to the m ...
* Scaphoid fossa
In the pterygoid processes of the sphenoid, above the pterygoid fossa is a small, oval, shallow depression, the scaphoid fossa, which gives origin to the Tensor veli palatini
The tensor veli palatini muscle (tensor palati or tensor muscle of the ...
* Pterygoid process
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 ...
References
Bones of the head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub