Temporal Bone Flashcards
The adult temporal bone is made up of five bony parts. What are these parts?
Squamous, mastoid, petrous, tympanic, and styloid portions
What is the function of the squamous portion?
This functions as the bony floor of the adult suprazygomatic masticator space (i.e., temporal fossa) and the lateral wall of the middle cranial fossa
What are the three important landmarks of the mastoid portion?
Mastoid antrum
Aditus ad antrum (Latin for “entrance to cavity”)
Korner septum
What is the purpose of the aditus ad antrum?
It connects the epitympanum (i.e., attic) of the middle ear cavity to the mastoid antrum.
What is the Korner’s septum?
It is a part of the petrosquamosal suture that runs posterolaterally through the mastoid air cells.
What is the function of the Korner’s septum?
It acts as a barrier to extension of infection from the lateral mastoid air cells to the medial mastoid air cells.
It also functions as an important surgical landmark within the mastoid air cells.
The inner ear is contained within what portion of the temporal bone?
Petrous portion
It is often referred to as the petrous pyramid
What are the two important structures on the anteior surface of the petrous pyramid?
The tegmen tympani - roof or cover of the tympanic cavity
The arcuate eminence - bone prominence over the superior semicircular canal. This is a surgical landmark as the surgeon cuts along the floor of the middle cranial fossa.
The posterior surface of of the petrous portion of the temporal bone contains what structures?
The porus acusticus - opening (or “mouth”) of the internal auditory canal
Modiolus (Latin for “hub”) - which is the entrance to the cochlea through which the cochlear nerve passes, and the crista falciformis, which is the horizontal bony septum in the lateral 3 mm of the internal auditory canal
Vestibular aqueduct - transmits the endolymphatic duct and runs parallel to the line of the petrous ridge
Cochlear aqueduct - transmits the perilymphatic duct and located vertically below the internal auditory canal running parallel to it
What is the function of the inferior surface of the petrous temporal bone?
It helps to form the carotid canal and jugular foramen
The petrous apex is seperated from the clivus by what structures?
By the petrooccipital fissure and the foramen lacerum
This portion of the temporal bone is a U-shaped bone forming the majority of the adult bony external auditory canal.
Tympanic portion
This portion of the temporal bone forms the styloid process.
Styloid portion
Like the mastoid process, the styloid process develops after birth.
The medial border of the external auditory canal is form by what structure?
Tympanic membrane
This is the bony projection to which the tympanic membrane attaches superiorly; it attaches to the tympanic annulus inferiorly.
Scutum
This is an important landmark to determine if a lesion is in the external or middle ear.
Tympanic annulus
Where is the nodal drainage of the external auditory canal and adjacent scalp?
Parotid lymph nodes