Cranial Cavity, Venous Sinuses, and Brain Flashcards
What are the boundaries of the anterior cranial fossa?
Anterior: frontal bone posterior: lesser wing of sphenoid
What are the boundaries of the middle cranial fossa?
Anterior: lesser wing of sphenoid posterior: Apex of petrous part of temporal bone
What are the boundaries of the posterior cranial fossa?
Anterior: Apex of petrous part of temporal bone posterior: occipital bone
What are the major foramina of the anterior cranial fossa?
Cribriform foramina Anterior ethmoidal foramina Posterior ethmoidal foramina
What are the contents transmitted in the cribriform foramina?
Axons of olfactory nn.
What are the contents transmitted in the anterior ethmoidal foramina?
Anterior ethmoidal neurovasculature
What are the contents transmitted in the posterior ethmoidal foramina?
Posterior ethmoidal neurovasculature
What are the major foramina of the middle cranial fossa?
Optic canals superior orbital fissure foramen rotundum Foramen ovale foramen spinosum
What contents are transmitted through the optic canals?
ophthalmic aa. and optic nn. (CN II)
What contents are transmitted through the superior orbital fissure?
Oculomotor n. (CN III); Trochlear n. (CN IV); Ophthalmic n. (V1); Abducens n. (CN VI); Ophthalmic vv., and sympathetic fibers
What contents are transmitted through the foramen rotundum?
Maxillary n. (V2)
What contents are transmitted through the foramen ovale?
Mandibular n. (V3), and accessory meningeal artery
What contents are transmitted through the foramen spinosum?
Middle meningeal a. and v., and meningeal branch of Mandibular n. V3
What are the major foramina of the posterior cranial fossa?
Jugular foramen foramen magnum hypoglossal canal
What contents are transmitted through the jugular foramen?
Glossopharyngeal n. (CN IX); Vagus n. (CN X); Accessory n. (CN XI); Internal jugular v. (IJV)
What contents are transmitted through the foramen magnum?
Accessory n. (CN XI); transition from medulla oblongata to spinal cord; Vertebral aa.; Anterior & posterior spinal aa.
What contents are transmitted through the hypoglossal canal?
Hypoglossal n. (CN XII)
What are the major parts of the brain?
Cerebrum Brainstem Cerebellum Hypophysis
What is the cerebrum?
The largest component of the brain; consists of the R & L cerebral hemispheres and basal ganglia. The cerebral lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital) do not correspond precisely with the similarly named bone.
What separates the R and L cerebral hemispheres of the cerebrum?
the longitudinal cerebral fissure
What are the proximal, intermediate, and distal portions of the brainstem?
the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata
Where is the cerebellum located?
The cerebellum is inferior to the cerebrum and posterior to the brainstem.
What connects the two hemispheres of the cerebellum?
the vermis
What gland is known as the hypophysis?
the pituitary gland
Where is the hypophysis located?
Hypophysis is located within the hypophyseal fossa of the sphenoid bone.
What is the pituitary gland (hypophysis) continuous with?
the infundibulum, a component of the hypothalamus.
What are the three types of cranial meninges?
pia mater, arachnoid mater, dura mater
What is the pia mater of the brain?
“delicate mother”. It is closely associated with the brain (even dipping into fissures and sulk). Also, it enmeshes blood vessels on the surface of the brain.
What is the filmy, transparent layer that is connected to the pia mater?
arachnoid mater
How is the arachnoid mater connected to the pia mater?
via trabeculae.
What space separates the pia and arachnoid mater? What fills that space?
the subarachnoid space : cerebrospinal fluid
If you hemorrhage a cerebral artery, where might the blood be contained?
in the subarachnoid space (subarachnoid hematoma)
____________ serve as sites where CSF trains into the blood.
arachnoid villi (projection of the arachnoid mater into the superior sagittal sinus)
What are arachnoid granulations?
tuft-like collections of highly folded arachnoid that project into the superior sagittal sinus and its lateral lacunae (lateral extensions of the superior sagittal sinus).