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Sphenoid bone
 
 
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The sphenoid bone (from Greek sphenoeides, "wedgelike") is a bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
 situated at the base of the skull
Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
 in front of the temporal bone
Temporal bone

The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull.The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple ....
 and basilar part of the occipital bone
Occipital bone

The occipital bone, a saucer-shaped membrane bone situated at the back and lower part of the skull, is trapezoid in shape and curved on itself. It is pierced by a large oval aperture, the foramen magnum, through which the cranial cavity communicates with the vertebral canal....
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The sphenoid bone (from Greek sphenoeides, "wedgelike") is a bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
 situated at the base of the skull
Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
 in front of the temporal bone
Temporal bone

The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull.The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple ....
 and basilar part of the occipital bone
Occipital bone

The occipital bone, a saucer-shaped membrane bone situated at the back and lower part of the skull, is trapezoid in shape and curved on itself. It is pierced by a large oval aperture, the foramen magnum, through which the cranial cavity communicates with the vertebral canal....
. The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones that articulate to form the orbit
Orbit (anatomy)

In anatomy, the orbital bone is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its adnexa are situated.It can also mean the skin which surrounds the eye of a bird....
. Its shape somewhat resembles that of a butterfly
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
 or bat with its wings extended.

Portions

It is divided into the following parts:
  • a median portion, known as the body of sphenoid bone
    Body of sphenoid bone

    The body of the sphenoid bone, more or less Cube in shape, is hollowed out in its interior to form two large cavities, the sphenoidal air sinuses, which are separated from each other by a septum....
    , containing the sella turcica
    Sella turcica

    The sella turcica literally...
     which houses the pituitary gland
    Pituitary gland

    The pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g . It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a Dura mater fold ....
  • two greater wings and two lesser wings
  • Pterygoid processes of the sphenoid
    Pterygoid processes of the sphenoid

    The pterygoid processes of the sphenoid, one on either side, descend perpendicularly from the regions where the body and great wings unite.Each process consists of a medial pterygoid plate and a lateral pterygoid plate, the upper parts of which are fused anteriorly; a vertical sulcus, the pterygopalatine groove, descends on the front of the...
    es which project from it posteriorly (below)


Two sphenoidal conchae
Sphenoidal conchae

The sphenoidal conchae are two thin, curved plates, situated at the anterior and lower part of the body of the sphenoid. An aperture of variable size exists in the anterior wall of each, and through this the sphenoidal sinus opens into the nasal cavity....
 are situated at the anterior and posterior part of the body.

Named features

Various other named features of the sphenoid bone exist:
  • pterygoid notch
  • pterygoid fossa
    Pterygoid fossa

    The pterygoid fossa is an anatomical term for the fossa formed by the divergence of the lateral pterygoid plate and the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone....
  • scaphoid fossa
    Scaphoid fossa

    In the pterygoid processes of the sphenoid, above the pterygoid fossa is a small, oval, shallow depression, the scaphoid fossa, which gives origin to the Tensor veli palatini....
  • pterygoid hamulus
    Pterygoid hamulus

    The medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid curves lateralward at its lower extremity into a hook-like process, the pterygoid hamulus, around which the tendon of the Tensor veli palatini glides....
  • pterygoid canal
    Pterygoid canal

    The pterygoid canal is a passage in the skull leading from just anterior to the foramen lacerum in the middle cranial fossa to the pterygopalatine fossa....
  • pterygospinous process


Additional images


See also

  • Bone terminology
    Bone

    Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
  • Ossification of the sphenoid
    Ossification of the sphenoid

    Until the seventh or eighth month of fetal life the body of the sphenoid consists of two parts: one in front of the tuberculum sell?, the presphenoid, with which the small wings are continuous; the other, comprising the sella turcica and dorsum sell?, the postsphenoid, with which are associated the great wings, and pterygoid processes....
  • Pterygospinal ligament
    Pterygospinal ligament

    A fibrous band that spans the sphenoid bone from its spine to the superior border of the lateral pterygoid plate....
  • Terms for anatomical location


External links

- "Lateral view of skull."