Pterygopalatine fossa

The pterygopalatine fossa is a subcutaneous fossa that is well separated from the surrounding tissues; it is located between the infraorbital margin and the horizontal branch of the mandible. On the surface of the face it is most clearly expressed anterior to the outer edge of the orbit and under the zygomatic arch. It is limited in front and on the sides by the superior orbital fissure, or notch, and the premaxillary notch, respectively, behind by the zygomatic foramen, and below by the infraorbital foramen. The length of the pterygoid fossa ranges from 23 to 35 mm. The greatest width is determined in the anteroposterior direction on average in adults. In children, especially young children, the fossa is wider and more oval in shape. The orbital surface, bounded below by the bony part of the orbital part of the body of the sphenoid bone, in front by the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, above by the medial orbital wall, in the pterygopalatine angle smoothly passes into the orbital-pterygopalatine part of the orbital floor. According to its formation (ascending part, posterior surface, descending part) it has features in its structure. The depth of the orbit at the border of the superior and inferior orbital fissures is topographically divided into anterior and posterior, the latter corresponding to the depth of the pterygofrontal foramen. It contains the pterygoid muscles, covered with the common fascia of the face. From below, through the pterygopalatine canal, the pterygoid fossa communicates with the cranial cavity and forms a large wing, which is attached from behind to the outer base of the skull along with the mastoid process, forming the pyramid of the temporal bone. Anatomical