Pterygopalatine fossa
The pterygopalatine fossa is a fossa in the skull.
Contents
Blood vessels
The internal maxillary artery branch of the external carotid artery passes through the pterygopalatine fossa.[1]
Nerves
Components of several nerves pass through the pterygopalatine fossa.
Trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V)
The maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve gives rise to the zygomatic nerve within the pterygopalatine fossa.[2]
Fascial nerve (cranial nerve VII)
The pterygopalatine ganglion of the the fascial nerve lies in the pterygopalatine fossa. This is a parasympathetic ganglion that innervates the lacrimal gland.[3]
Autonomic nerves
Parasympathetic nerves
The pterygopalatine ganglion (Meckel's gangion; sphenopalatine ganglion in earlier editions of Gray's[2][3]) is in the pterygopalatine fossa. This ganglion contains parasympathetic neurons that leave the brain in the facial nerve, become part of the greater petrosal branch of the facial nerve, and then synapse in the pterygopalatine ganglion. These fibers then travel backward along the main maxillary nerve before joining the lacrimal nerve.[4]
Sympathetic nerves
The pterygopalatine ganglion (Meckel's gangion; sphenopalatine ganglion in earlier editions of Gray's[2][3]) is in the pterygopalatine fossa.[2][3] This ganglion contains sympathetic neurons that originate in synapses in the superior cervical ganglia, then accompany the carotid artery into the skull, then accompany the greater petrosal branch of the facial nerve, and then pass through the pterygopalatine ganglion without synapsing on their way to the lacrimal gland.[5]
References
- ↑ Gray, Henry David (1918). “3a. 2. The External Carotid Artery”, Anatomy of the human body, 20th edition. Bartleby.com. ISBN 1-58734-102-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Gray, Henry David (1918). “5e. The Trigeminal Nerve”, Anatomy of the human body, 20th edition. Bartleby.com. ISBN 1-58734-102-6. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "isbn1-58734-102-6chapt5e" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "isbn1-58734-102-6chapt5e" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gray, Henry David (1918). “5g. The Facial Nerve”, Anatomy of the human body, 20th edition. Bartleby.com. ISBN 1-58734-102-6. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "isbn1-58734-102-6chapt5g" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "isbn1-58734-102-6chapt5g" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Goss, Charles Mayo; Gray, Henry David (1973). “The peripheral nervous system: the trigeminal nerve”, Anatomy of the human body, 29th edition. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 917. ISBN 0-8121-0377-7.
- ↑ Goss, Charles Mayo; Gray, Henry David (1973). “The peripheral nervous system: the facial nerve”, Anatomy of the human body, 29th edition. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 927. ISBN 0-8121-0377-7.
External links
- Tufts University Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology Medical and Dental Gross Anatomy Web Server: The Pterygopalatine fossa