Pterygopalatine fossa

Bone: Pterygopalatine fossa
Left maxillary sinus opened from the exterior.
Old human skull with entrance to pterygopalatine fossa marked in purple
Latin	fossa pterygopalatina
Gray's	subject #41 166

The pterygopalatine fossa is a fossa in the skull. It is the indented area medial to the pterygomaxillary fissure leading into the sphenopalatine foramen.

Boundaries

It has the following boundaries:

• anterior: superomedial part of the infratemporal surface of maxilla
• posterior: root of the pterygoid process and adjoining anterior surface of the greater wing of sphenoid bone
• medial: perpendicular plate of the palatine bone and its orbital sphenoidal processes
• lateral: pterygomaxillary fissure
• inferior: part of the floor is formed by the pyramidal process of the palatine bone.

Passages

The following passages connect the fossa with other parts of the skull:

Direction	Passage	Connection
Posteriorly	foramen rotundum	middle cranial fossa
Posteriorly	pterygoid canal (Vidian)	middle cranial fossa, foramen lacerum
Posteriorly	palatovaginal canal (pharyngeal)	nasal cavity/nasopharynx
Anteriorly	inferior orbital fissure	orbit
Medially	sphenopalatine foramen	nasal cavity
Laterally	pterygomaxillary fissure	infratemporal fossa
Inferiorly	greater palatine canal (pterygopalatine)	oral cavity, lesser palatine canals

Contents

The pterygopalatine fossa contains

• the pterygopalatine ganglion suspended by nerve roots from the maxillary nerve
• the terminal third of the maxillary artery
• the maxillary nerve (CN V₂, the second division of the trigeminal nerve), with which is the nerve of the pterygoid canal, a combination of the greater petrosal nerve (preganglionic parasympathetic) and the deep petrosal nerve (postganglionic sympathetic). To obtain block anesthesia of the entire second division of the trigeminal nerve, an intraoral injection can be administered into this area.

See also

• Pterygopalatine canal

Additional images

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  Alveolar branches of superior maxillary nerve and pterygopalatine ganglion.

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  The pterygopalatine ganglion and its branches.

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  Fossa pterygopalatina

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  Pterygopalatine fossa

External links

• Image at tufts.edu
• Interactive at Columbia.edu