The Temporal Region

The face | Main Anatomy Index | The temporomandibular joint

The Temporal Fossa (p. 723)

• It is bounded superiorly and posteriorly by the temporal lines and anteriorly by the frontal and zygomatic bones.

• The temporal fascia stretches over the temporal fossa and the temporalis muscle.
• Inferiorly, the temporalis fascia splits into two layers, superficial and deep.
• The superficial layer is attached to the superior margin of the zygomatic arch.
• The deep layer passes medial to the arch to become continuous with the fascia deep to the masseter muscle.

• The floor of the temporal fossa which gives origin to the temporalis muscle, is formed by portions of the four bones: parietal, frontal, greater wing of sphenoid, and squamous part of the temporal bone.
• The area where the bones meet is called the pterion.

• The temporal fossa contains the fan-shaped temporalis muscle, the "handle" of which passes deep to the zygomatic arch.
• The temporal fossa is deepest where the temporalis muscle is thickest (anteroinferiorly).

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The Infratemporal Fossa

• This is an irregularly shaped space inferior and deep to the zygomatic arch and posterior to the maxilla.
• It communicates with the temporal fossa through the interval between the zygomatic arch and the skull, which is traversed by the temporalis muscle and the deep temporal nerves and vessels.

Bones and Walls of the Infratemporal Fossa (p. 725)

• Lateral wall: ramus of the mandible.

• Medial wall: lateral pterygoid plate.

• Anterior wall: infratemporal surface of the maxilla. This wall is limited superiorly by the inferior orbital fissure and medially by the pterygomaxillary fissure.

• Posterior wall: anterior surface of the condylar process of the mandible and the styloid process of the temporal bone.

• Roof: this is formed by the flat inferior surface of the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. It is separated from the temporal fossa by a ragged edge called the infratemporal crest.
• The foramen ovale and spinosum open into the roof of the infratemporal fossa.

• Inferior boundary: the point where the medial pterygoid muscle attaches to the medial aspect of the mandible near the angle.

Contents of the Infratemporal Fossa (p. 725)

• This fossa contains the inferior part of the temporalis muscle, the medial and lateral pterygoid muscles, the maxillary artery, the mandibular and chorda tympani nerves, the otic ganglion, and the inferior alveolar, lingual and buccal nerves.

The Maxillary Artery (p. 725)

• This vessel is the larger of the two terminal branches of the external carotid artery.

• It arises posterior to the neck of the condylar process of the mandible and passes anteriorly, deep to the neck, and traverses the infratemporal fossa.
• It passes superficial to the lateral pterygoid muscle and then disappears in the infratemporal fossa.

• The middle meningeal artery, the largest of the meningeal artery, a branch of the maxillary artery, ascends between the two roots of the auriculotemporal nerve and enters the skull through the foramen spinosum to supply the dura and the interior of the cranium.

The Mandibular Nerve (p. 725)

• All nerves in the infratemporal region (auriculotemporal, inferior alveolar, lingual and buccal nerves) are branches of the mandibular nerve, except for the chorda tympani which is a branch of the facial nerve.
• The mandibular nerve descends from the middle cranial fossa through the foramen ovale into the infratemporal fossa.

The Otic Ganglion (p. 731)

• This parasympathetic ganglion is located in the infratemporal fossa, just inferior to the foramen ovale.
• It is medial to the mandibular nerve, and posterior to the medial pterygoid muscle.
• Preganglionic parasympathetic fibres are mainly derived from the glossopharyngeal nerve.
• The postganglionic fibres, which are secretory to the parotid gland, pass from this ganglion to the auriculotemporal nerve.

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