Craniopharyngeal canal

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Craniopharyngeal canal
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Anatomical terminology

The craniopharyngeal canal is a human anatomical feature sometimes found in the sphenoid bone opening to the sella turcica. It is a canal (a passage or channel) sometimes found extending from the anterior part of the fossa hypophyseos of the sphenoid bone to the under surface of the skull, and marks the original position of Rathke's pouch; while at the junction of the septum of the nose with the palate traces of the stomodeal end are occasionally present. This canal is found in 0.4% of individuals. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zygomatic bone</span> Facial bone

In the human skull, the zygomatic bone, also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. It is situated at the upper and lateral part of the face and forms the prominence of the cheek, part of the lateral wall and floor of the orbit, and parts of the temporal fossa and the infratemporal fossa. It presents a malar and a temporal surface; four processes, and four borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foramen ovale (skull)</span> Hole in the sphenoid bone of the skull

The foramen ovale is a hole in the posterior part of the sphenoid bone, posterolateral to the foramen rotundum. It is one of the larger of the several holes in the skull. It transmits the mandibular nerve, a branch of the trigeminal nerve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphenoid bone</span> Bone at the front of the skull

The sphenoid bone is an unpaired bone of the neurocranium. It is situated in the middle of the skull towards the front, in front of the basilar part of the occipital bone. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones that articulate to form the orbit. Its shape somewhat resembles that of a butterfly or bat with its wings extended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palatine bone</span> Bone of the facial skeleton

In anatomy, the palatine bones are two irregular bones of the facial skeleton in many animal species, located above the uvula in the throat. Together with the maxillae, they comprise the hard palate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontal bone</span> Bone in the human skull

The frontal bone is a bone in the human skull. The bone consists of two portions. These are the vertically oriented squamous part, and the horizontally oriented orbital part, making up the bony part of the forehead, part of the bony orbital cavity holding the eye, and part of the bony part of the nose respectively. The name comes from the Latin word frons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orbit (anatomy)</span> Cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated

In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is 30 millilitres, of which the eye occupies 6.5 ml. The orbital contents comprise the eye, the orbital and retrobulbar fascia, extraocular muscles, cranial nerves II, III, IV, V, and VI, blood vessels, fat, the lacrimal gland with its sac and duct, the eyelids, medial and lateral palpebral ligaments, cheek ligaments, the suspensory ligament, septum, ciliary ganglion and short ciliary nerves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foramen lacerum</span> Triangular hole in the base of the skull

The foramen lacerum is a triangular hole in the base of skull. It is located between the sphenoid bone, the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone, and the basilar part of the occipital bone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foramen spinosum</span> Hole in the sphenoid bone of the skull

The foramen spinosum is a small open hole in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone that gives passage to the middle meningeal artery and vein, and the meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pterygoid processes of the sphenoid</span> Bone plates projecting from the sphenoid bone of the skull

The pterygoid processes of the sphenoid, one on either side, descend perpendicularly from the regions where the body and the greater wings of the sphenoid bone unite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater wing of sphenoid bone</span> Large part of the skull front behind the eye socket

The greater wing of the sphenoid bone, or alisphenoid, is a bony process of the sphenoid bone; there is one on each side, extending from the side of the body of the sphenoid and curving upward, laterally, and backward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser wing of sphenoid bone</span>

The lesser wings of the sphenoid or orbito-sphenoids are two thin triangular plates, which arise from the upper and anterior parts of the body, and, projecting lateralward, end in sharp points [Fig. 1].

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optic canal</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carotid canal</span> Hole in the temporal bone in the skull for the internal carotid artery to enter the skull

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 cranial cavity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle cranial fossa</span>

The middle cranial fossa is formed by the sphenoid bones, and the temporal bones. It lodges the temporal lobes, and the pituitary gland. It is deeper than the anterior cranial fossa, is narrow medially and widens laterally to the sides of the skull. It is separated from the posterior cranial fossa by the clivus and the petrous crest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carotid groove</span>

The carotid groove is an anatomical groove in the sphenoid bone located above the attachment of each great wing of the sphenoid bone. The groove is curved like the italic letter f, and lodges the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pterygoid canal</span>

The pterygoid 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphenoidal process of palatine bone</span> Thin, compressed plate

The sphenoidal process of palatine bone is a thin, superomedially directed plate of bone. It is smaller and more inferior compared to the orbital process of palatine bone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pterygoid fossa</span>

The pterygoid fossa is an anatomical term for the fossa formed by the divergence of the lateral pterygoid plate and the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clivus (anatomy)</span> Bony part of the skull base

The clivus, or Blumenbach clivus, is a bony part of the cranium at the base of the skull. It is a shallow depression behind the dorsum sellae of the sphenoid bone. It slopes gradually to the anterior part of the basilar occipital bone at its junction with the sphenoid bone. It extends to the foramen magnum. It is related to the pons and the abducens nerve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphenoparietal sinus</span>

The sphenoparietal sinus is a paired dural venous sinus situated along the posterior edge of the lesser wing of either sphenoid bone. It drains into the cavernous sinus.

References

  1. Arey, L. B. (1950). "The craniopharyngeal canal reviewed and reinterpreted". The Anatomical Record. 106 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1002/ar.1091060102. ISSN   0003-276X. PMID   15404751.

PD-icon.svgThis article incorporates text in the public domain from page 1277 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)