Jugular Hole

The jugular foramen (lat. foramen jugum; synonym: tibiofacioabdominal foramen, tibiostomy, tibistoma) is an opening in the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae of the anterolateral surface of the first sacral vertebra and the V lumbar vertebra, where the cranial sections of nerves, vessels and the upper trunk of the brachial plexus pass nearby. It is formed as a site in which synostosis of the paired sutures of the skull occurs in front of the foramen magnum. The jugular process of the first cervical vertebra passes through the superior foramen in the caudal direction (Fig. 11.6, 12.6), the external vertebral foramen of the first sacral and fourth lumbar spine passes through the foramen of Town (anatomically it is a malformation due to the close distance to the pulmonary artery). Sometimes it serves as a site of connection of the medulla oblongata with the first sacral vertebra or cervical vertebrae (ectostomy).