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 canal (or ''canalis'' in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
) is a tubular passage or channel which connects different regions of the body.
Examples
Cranial region
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Alveolar canals
The alveolar canals are apertures in the center of the infratemporal surface of the maxilla. The alveolar canals transmit the posterior superior alveolar vessels and nerves
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called ax ...
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Carotid canal
The carotid canal is a passage in the petrous part of the temporal bone of the skull through which the internal carotid artery and its internal carotid (nervous) plexus pass from the neck into (the middle cranial fossa of) the cranial cavity.
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Facial canal
The facial canal (also known as the Fallopian canal) is a Z-shaped canal in the temporal bone of the skull. It extends between the internal acoustic meatus and stylomastoid foramen. It transmits the facial nerve (CN VII) (after which it is nam ...
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Greater palatine canal
The greater palatine canal (or pterygopalatine canal) is a passage in the skull that transmits the descending palatine artery, vein, and greater and lesser palatine nerves between the pterygopalatine fossa and the oral cavity.
Structure
The gre ...
Infraorbital canal
The infraorbital canal is a canal found at the base of the orbit that opens on to the maxilla. It is continuous with the infraorbital groove and opens onto the maxilla at the infraorbital foramen. The infraorbital nerve and infraorbital artery t ...
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Mandibular canal
In human anatomy, the mandibular canal is a canal within the mandible that contains the inferior alveolar nerve, inferior alveolar artery, and inferior alveolar vein. It runs obliquely downward and forward in the ramus, and then horizontally ...
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Optic canal
The ''optic foramen'' is the opening to the optic canal. The canal is located in the sphenoid bone; it is bounded medially by the body of the sphenoid and laterally by the lesser wing of the sphenoid.
The superior surface of the sphenoid bone is ...
Pterygoid canal
The pterygoid canal (also vidian canal) is a passage in the sphenoid bone of the skull leading from just anterior to the foramen lacerum in the middle cranial fossa to the pterygopalatine fossa.
It transmits the nerve of pterygoid canal (Vidi ...
Abdominal region
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Inguinal canal
The inguinal canal is a passage in the anterior abdominal wall on each side of the body (one on each side of the midline), which in males, convey the spermatic cords and in females, the round ligament of the uterus. The inguinal canals are lar ...
Pelvic region
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Anal canal
The anal canal is the part that connects the rectum to the anus, located below the level of the pelvic diaphragm. It is located within the anal triangle of the perineum, between the right and left ischioanal fossa. As the final functional s ...
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Cervical canal
The cervical canal is the spindle-shaped, flattened canal of the cervix which connects the vagina to the main cavity of the uterus in most mammals.
Anatomy
The cervical canal communicates with the uterine cavity via the internal orifice of the ...
Suprascapular canal
The suprascapular canal is an anatomical passage between two openings found on the upper dorsal aspect of the shoulder. It is found bilaterally running on superior-lateral aspect of the dorsal surface of the scapula underneath the supraspinatus m ...
Ulnar canal
The ulnar canal or ulnar tunnel (also known as Guyon's canal or tunnel) is a semi-rigid longitudinal canal in the wrist that allows passage of the ulnar artery and ulnar nerve into the hand. (These are named after the ulna, the long bone on the li ...