Mastoid foramen
| Bone: Mastoid foramen | |
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| Left temporal bone. Inner surface. (Mastoid foramen labeled at bottom left.) | |
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| Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Temporal bone is pink, and label for mastoid foramen is at left, second from the bottom.) | |
| Latin | foramen mastoideum |
| Gray's | subject #34 141 |
The mastoid foramen is a large hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone. It transmits a Mastoid emissary vein to the sigmoid sinus and a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery to the dura mater.
[edit] Variations
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.
It transmits (1) an emissary vein connecting the sigmoid sinus with the posterior auricular vein and (2) a meningeal branch of the occipital artery
[edit] Additional images
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Base of skull. Inferior surface.
[edit] External links
- Mastoid+foramen at eMedicine Dictionary
- Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 34257.000-1
- Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 34257.000-2
- Akram Abood Jaffar: Personal website, Anatomical variations
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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