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Mastoid foramen

Hole in the back of the temporal bone

Summary

Hole in the back of the temporal bone

Field	Value
Name	Mastoid foramen
Latin	foramen mastoideum
Image	File:Gray138.png
Caption	Left temporal bone. Inner surface. (Mastoid foramen labeled at bottom left.)
Image2	File:Gray193.png
Caption2	Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Temporal bone is pink, and label for mastoid foramen is at left, second from the bottom.)
PartOf	Temporal bone of skull	System=Skeletal

The mastoid foramen is a hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone. It transmits an emissary vein between the sigmoid sinus and the suboccipital venous plexus, and a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery to the dura mater.

Structure

The mastoid foramen is a hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone of the skull.

The opening of the mastoid foramen is an average of 18 mm from the asterion, and around 34 mm from the external auditory meatus. It is typically very narrow. This may be around 2 mm.

Variation

The position and size of this foramen are very variable. It is not always present. Sometimes, it is duplicated on one side or both sides. Sometimes, it is situated in the occipital bone, or in the suture between the temporal bone and the occipital bone.

Function

The mastoid foramen transmits:

an emissary vein between the sigmoid sinus and the suboccipital venous plexus or the posterior auricular vein.
a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery, to the dura mater.

References

(June 2021). "Comprehensive review of the mastoid foramen". Neurosurgical Review.
(2018-07-01). "Mastoid foramen, mastoid emissary vein and clinical implications in neurosurgery". Acta Neurochirurgica.
(2000-03-31). "Mastoid Foramen and Superficial Mastoid Canals of Korean Men". Korean Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

foramina-of-the-skull otorhinolaryngology human-head-and-neck skull

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