| Trigeminal cave | |
|---|---|
 The trigeminal ganglion and its branches represented here as 1st division, 2nd division, and 3rd division. The Trigeminal Cave houses this ganglion. | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | cavum Meckeli, cavum trigeminale |
| TA98 | A14.1.01.108 |
| TA2 | 5379 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
The trigeminal cave (also known as Meckel's cave or cavum trigeminale) is a dura mater pouch containing cerebrospinal fluid.
The trigeminal cave is formed by the two layers of dura mater (endosteal and meningeal) which are part of an evagination of the cerebellar tentorium near the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone. It envelops the trigeminal ganglion. It is bounded by the dura overlying four structures:
Within the dural confines of the trigeminal cave, there is a continuation of subarachnoid space along the posterior aspect of the cave, representing a continuation of the cerebral basal cisterns. [1]
It is named for Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Elder. [2] [3]
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Johann Friedrich Meckel the Elder was a German anatomist born in Wetzlar. He often has "the Elder" appended to his name to avoid confusion with his famous grandson Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781–1833), who was also an anatomist and often has "the Younger" included with his name. The elder Meckel's son, Philipp Friedrich Theodor Meckel (1755–1803) and another grandson, August Albrecht Meckel (1790–1829) were also anatomists.
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 886 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
