The Temporal Region

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The face | Main Anatomy Index | The temporomandibular
joint
Last updated 30 March 2006
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).
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)
- 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.
