The pterygoid fovea (occasionally called the pterygoid pit or the pterygoid depression) is located on the

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

. It is a concave surface on the medial side of the neck of the

condyloid process The condyloid process or condylar process is the process on the human and other mammalian species' mandibles that ends in a condyle, the mandibular condyle. It is thicker than the coronoid process of the mandible and consists of two portions: the ...

of the mandible. It is located posterior to the mandibular notch and inferior to the mandibular condyle. The pterygoid fovea is the site of insertion for the inferior head of the

lateral pterygoid muscle The lateral pterygoid muscle (or external pterygoid muscle) is a muscle of mastication. It has two heads. It lies superior to the medial pterygoid muscle. It is supplied by pterygoid branches of the maxillary artery, and the lateral pterygoid ne ...

References

Bones of the head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub