Pterygopalatine fossa Flashcards
What is the posterior border of the pterygopalatine fossa?
pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone
What is the anterior border of the pterygopalatine fossa?
maxilla
What is the medial border of the pterygopalatine fossa?
perpendicular plate of the palatine bone
What is the lateral border of the pterygopalatine fossa?
pterygomaxillary fissure
What is the floor of the pterygopalatine fossa?
pyramidal process of the palatine bone
What areas does the pterygopalatine fossa communicate with?
- infra temporal fossa via pterygomaxillary fissure
- middle cranial fossa via foramen rotunda and pterygoid canal
- orbit via inferior orbital fissure
- nasal cavity via sphenopalatine foramen
- palate via greater and lesser palatine canals
What structures are transmitted from the pterygopalatine fossa to the infratemporal fossa via the pterygomaxillary fissure?
sphenopalatine artery and vein
What structures are transmitted from the pterygopalatine fossa to the orbit via the inferior orbital fissure?
infraorbital nerve and zygomatic nerve, both are branches of V2
What structures are transmitted from the pterygopalatine fossa to the nasal cavity via the sphenopalatine foramen?
nasal arteries, nasal veins and nasal nerves
What structures are transmitted from the pterygopalatine fossa to the palate via the palatine canals?
palatine nerves (from V2), palatine arteries and palatine veins
What are the branches of the maxillary nerve associated with the pterygopalatine fossa?
- zygomatic nerves
- superior alveolar nerves
- palatine nerves
- nasal nerves
- infraorbital nerves
What does the zygomatic nerve supply?
skin along the lateral orbit and zygomatic arch
What does the posterior superior alveolar nerves supply?
- maxillary molars
What does the greater palatine nerve supply?
mucosa of the hard palate
What does the lesser palatine nerve supply?
mucosa of the soft palate
What does the middle superior alveolar nerves supply?
maxillary premolars
What does the anterior superior alveolar nerves supply?
maxillary incisors and canines
What do the nasal nerves off the maxillary artery supply?
mucosa of the nasal cavity
What does the infraorbital nerve supply?
sensory to the lower eyelid, skin of the nose and upper lid
What branches from the infraorbital nerve from the floor of the orbit?
nerves to innervate maxillary sinus
anterior and middle superior alveolar nerves
What terminal branch of maxillary artery sends branches to the nasal cavity and the palate?
sphenopalatine artery
The pterygopalatine ganglion is a parasympathetic ganglion for fibers from which cranial nerve?
CN XII, facial nerve
The pterygopalatine ganglion receives neuronal input via which nerve?
the nerve of the pterygoid canal
The nerve of the pterygoid canal is made by the merging of which two nerves?
greater petrosal nerve and deep petrosal nerve
Greater petrosal nerve is a branch of what cranial nerve and what kind of fibers does it contain?
It is a branch of CN 7, facial nerve, and contains preganglionic parasympathetic fibers headed to the pterygopalatine ganglion
Deep petrosal nerve contains what kind of fibers?
postganglionic sympathetic fibers from internal carotid plexus that provide vasomotor innervation to nasal glands, palatine glands and lacrimal glands
Postganglionic parasympathetic fibers from the pterygopalatine ganglion distributed where and what type of innervation do they provide?
they are distributed to the lacrimal gland, nasal gland and palatine gland to provide secretomotor innervation
Taste fibers from which cranial nerve hitchhike on the lesser and greater palatine nerves to innervate taste receptors on the palate?
CN XII, hypoglossal
