The pterygopalatine fossa is a small, paired, pyramidal bony space in the skull.
Description
The pterygopalatine fossa is a pyramidal-shaped area on each side just posterior to the upper jaw.
- It serves as a passageway for many nerves and vessels from the major components of the viscerocranium.
- It extends posteriorly, between the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone and anteriorly, to the rounded posterior aspect of the maxilla.
Borders
Anterior | The posterior surface of the maxilla |
Posterior | The pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone |
Lateral | Opens to the infratemporal fossa |
Medial | Perpendicular plate of the palatine bone |
Superior | Body of the sphenoid bone |
Inferior | Pyramidal process of the palatine bone |