The mastoid part of the temporal bone is the posterior (back) part of the

temporal bone The temporal bone is a paired bone situated at the sides and base of the skull, lateral to the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples where four of the cranial bone ...

, one of the

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, ...

s of the

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

. Its rough surface gives attachment to various

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

s (via

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...

s) and it has openings for

blood vessel Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many Animal, animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the Tissue (biology), tissues of a Body (bi ...

s. From its borders, the mastoid part articulates with two other bones.

Etymology

The word "mastoid" is derived from the Greek word for "

breast The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...

", a reference to the shape of this bone.

Surfaces

Outer surface

Its outer surface is rough and gives attachment to the

occipitalis The occipitalis muscle (occipital belly) is a muscle which covers parts of the skull. Some sources consider the occipital muscle to be a distinct muscle. However, Terminologia Anatomica currently classifies it as part of the occipitofrontalis musc ...

and

posterior auricular muscle The posterior auricular muscle is a muscle behind the auricle of the outer ear. It arises from the mastoid part of the temporal bone, and inserts into the lower part of the cranial surface of the auricle of the outer ear. It draws the auricle ba ...

s. It is perforated by numerous

foramina In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (; : foramina, or foramens ; ) is an opening or enclosed gap within the dense connective tissue (bones and deep fasciae) of extant and extinct amniote animals, typically to allow passage of nerves, arter ...

(holes); for example, the

mastoid foramen The mastoid foramen is a hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone. It transmits an emissary vein between the sigmoid sinus and the suboccipital venous plexus, and a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery t ...

is situated near the posterior border and transmits a vein to the

transverse sinus The transverse sinuses (left and right lateral sinuses), within the human head, are two areas beneath the brain which allow blood to drain from the back of the head. They run laterally in a groove for transverse sinus, groove along the interior ...

and a small branch of the

occipital artery The occipital artery is a branch of the external carotid artery that provides arterial supply to the back of the scalp, sternocleidomastoid muscles, and deep muscles of the back and neck. Structure Origin The occipital artery arises from (the ...

to the dura mater. The position and size of this foramen are very variable; it is not always present; sometimes it is situated in the occipital bone, or in the suture between the temporal and the occipital.

Mastoid process

The mastoid process is located posterior and inferior to the

ear canal The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the auricle to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. S ...

, lateral to the styloid process, and appears as a conical or pyramidal projection. It forms a bony prominence behind and below the ear. It has variable size and form (e.g. it is larger in the

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

than in the

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

). It is also filled with

sinuses Paranasal sinuses are a group of four paired air-filled spaces that surround the nasal cavity. The maxillary sinuses are located under the eyes; the frontal sinuses are above the eyes; the ethmoidal sinuses are between the eyes and the sphenoi ...

, or

mastoid cells The mastoid cells (also called air cells of Lenoir or mastoid cells of Lenoir) are air-filled cavities within the mastoid process of the temporal bone of the cranium. The mastoid cells are a form of skeletal pneumaticity. Infection in these cells ...

. The mastoid process serves for the attachment of the

sternocleidomastoid The sternocleidomastoid muscle is one of the largest and most superficial cervical muscles. The primary actions of the muscle are rotation of the head to the opposite side and flexion of the neck. The sternocleidomastoid is innervated by the acces ...

, the posterior belly of the

digastric muscle The digastric muscle (also digastricus) (named ''digastric'' as it has two 'bellies') is a bilaterally paired suprahyoid muscle located under the jaw. Its posterior belly is attached to the mastoid notch of temporal bone, and its anterior belly ...

splenius capitis The splenius capitis () () is a broad, straplike muscle in the back of the neck. It pulls on the base of the skull from the vertebrae cervical vertebra, in the neck and upper Thoracic vertebrae, thorax. It is involved in movements such as shaking ...

, and

longissimus capitis The longissimus () is the muscle lateral to the semispinalis muscles. It is the longest subdivision of the erector spinae muscles that extends forward into the transverse processes of the posterior cervical vertebrae. Structure Longissimus tho ...

. On the medial side of the process is a deep groove, the mastoid notch, for the attachment of the

; medial to this is a shallow furrow, the

occipital groove The mastoid part of the temporal bone is the posterior (back) part of the temporal bone, one of the bones of the skull. Its rough surface gives attachment to various muscles (via tendons) and it has openings for blood vessels. From its borders, t ...

, which lodges the

. The

facial nerve The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of ta ...

passes close to the mastoid process.

Inner surface

The inner surface of the mastoid portion presents a deep, curved groove, the

sigmoid sulcus The inner surface of the mastoid portion of the temporal bone presents a deep, curved groove, the sigmoid sulcus, which lodges part of the transverse sinus The transverse sinuses (left and right lateral sinuses), within the human head, are two ...

, which lodges part of the

; in it may be seen in the opening of the

. The groove for the transverse sinus is separated from the innermost of the mastoid cells by a very thin lamina of bone, and even this may be partly deficient.

Borders

The ''superior border'' of the mastoid part is broad and serrated, for articulation with the mastoid angle of the parietal. The ''posterior border'', also serrated, articulates with the inferior border of the occipital between the lateral angle and

jugular process The jugular process is a quadrilateral or triangular bony plate projecting lateralward from the posterior half of the occipital condyle; it is a part of the lateral part of the occipital bone. The jugular process is excavated in front by the jugu ...

. Anteriorly, the mastoid portion is fused with the descending process of the squama above; below, it enters into the formation of the

and the

tympanic cavity The tympanic cavity is a small cavity surrounding the bones of the middle ear. Within it sit the ossicles, three small bones that transmit vibrations used in the detection of sound. Structure On its lateral surface, it abuts the external audit ...

Spaces

A section of the mastoid process shows it to be hollowed out into a number of spaces, the

, which exhibit the greatest possible variety as to their size and number. At the upper and front part of the process, they are large and irregular and contain air, but toward the lower part, they diminish in size, while those at the apex of the process are frequently quite small and contain marrow; occasionally, they are entirely absent, and the mastoid is then solid throughout. In addition to these a large irregular cavity is situated at the upper and front part of the bone. It is called the

tympanic antrum The mastoid antrum (tympanic antrum, antrum mastoideum, Valsalva's antrum) is an air space in the petrous portion of the temporal bone, communicating posteriorly with the mastoid cells and anteriorly with the epitympanic recess of the middle ea ...

and must be distinguished from the mastoid cells, though it communicates with them. Like the mastoid cells, it is filled with air and lined by a prolongation of the mucous membrane of the tympanic cavity, with which it communicates. The tympanic antrum is bounded above by a thin plate of bone, the tegmen tympani, which separates it from the middle fossa of the

base of the skull The base of skull, also known as the cranial base or the cranial floor, is the most inferior area of the skull. It is composed of the endocranium and the lower parts of the calvaria. Structure Structures found at the base of the skull are for ...

, below by the mastoid process, laterally by the squama just below the temporal line, and medially by the

lateral semicircular canal The semicircular canals are three semicircular interconnected tubes located in the innermost part of each ear, the inner ear. The three canals are the lateral, anterior and posterior semicircular canals. They are the part of the bony labyrinth, ...

of the

internal ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...

, which projects into its cavity. It opens in front into that portion of the tympanic cavity which is known as the attic or epitympanic recess. The tympanic antrum is a cavity of some considerable size at the time of birth; the mastoid air cells may be regarded as diverticula from the antrum and begin to appear at or before birth. By the fifth year, they are well-marked, but their development is not completed until toward

puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...

Development

The mastoid process is absent or rudimentary in the neonatal skull. It forms postnatally (starts to develop after 1 year old), as the sternocleidomastoid muscle develops and pulls on the bone. It usually finishes structural development by 2 years old.

Clinical significance

Mastoid process

Because of the late postnatal development of the mastoid process, antenatal injuries to the region often recover spontaneously. The largest size is found in

South Africans South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA. These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora. History The first modern inh ...

and least found in North American Indians. Rarely, lesions can develop on the mastoid process.

References

External links

* * *
Diagram - #5
(sourc
here
* {{Authority control Bones of the head and neck Otorhinolaryngology Human head and neck Skull Otology

Etymology

Surfaces

Outer surface

Mastoid process

Inner surface

Borders

Spaces

Development

Clinical significance

Mastoid process

See also

References

External links