Foramen lacerum

The foramen lacerum (Latin: lacerated piercing) is a triangular hole in the base of skull, located between the sphenoid, the apex of the petrous temporal and the basilar part of the occipital.

Foramen lacerum
Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Foramen lacerum is labeled at center left, and is visible as the large hole between yellow sphenoid, red temporal, and blue occipital)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Foramen lacerum
TA98	A02.1.00.055
TA2	459
FMA	54809
Anatomical terminology

Structure

The foramen lacerum (Latin: lacerated piercing) is a triangular hole in the base of skull located between the sphenoid, apex of petrous temporal and basilar part of occipital. It is the juncture of the petroclival, sphenopetrosal, and pterygosphenoidal sutures.

The foramen lacerum is a foramen situated anteromedial to the carotid canal.[1] ^:776

Development

The foramen lacerum fills with cartilage after birth.[1] ^:776

Function

The artery of pterygoid canal, the nerve of pterygoid canal and some venous drainage pass through the foramen lacerum.

• In the foramen lacerum the greater petrosal nerve joins with the deep petrosal nerve to form the nerve of the pterygoid canal. The deep petrosal nerve carries sympathetic and the greater petrosal nerve carries parasympathetic fibers of the autonomic nervous system to blood vessels, mucous membranes, salivary glands, and lacrimal glands.
• Furthermore, one of the terminal branches of the ascending pharyngeal artery (itself a branch of the external carotid artery) passes through the foramen lacerum. The ascending pharyngeal artery is one of three possible "meningeal branches" of this vessel.
• Some emissary veins pass through the foramen lacerum. These connect the extracranial pterygoid plexus with the intracranial cavernous sinus and present an unopposed route for infection.

The internal carotid artery passes from the carotid canal in the base of the skull, emerging and coursing superior to foramen lacerum as it exits the carotid canal. The internal carotid artery does not travel through foramen lacerum. The segment of the internal carotid artery that travels above foramen lacerum is called the lacerum segment.[2]

Clinical significance

The foramen lacerum has been described as a portal of entry into the cranium for tumours, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma, juvenile angiofibroma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and lymphoma.[3][4]

History

The first recorded mention of the foramen lacerum was by anatomist Wenzel Gruber in 1869.[5][3] Study of the foramen has been neglected for many years because of the small role it plays in intracranial surgery.[3]

Additional images

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  Foramen lacerum

References

1. Drake, Richard L.; Vogl, Wayne; Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell; illustrations by Richard; Richardson, Paul (2005). Gray's anatomy for students. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 978-0-8089-2306-0.
2. Tubbs, R. Shane; Shoja, Mohammadali M.; Loukas, Marios (25 April 2016). Bergman's Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation. John Wiley & Sons. p. 450. ISBN 9781118430279.
3. Tauber, M; van Loveren, HR; Jallo, G; Romano, A; Keller, JT (February 1999). "The enigmatic foramen lacerum". Neurosurgery. 44 (2): 386–91, discussion 391-3. doi:10.1097/00006123-199902000-00083. PMID 9932893.
4. Christodouleas, Boris Hristov, Steven H. Lin, John P. (2010). Radiation oncology : a question-based review. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 138. ISBN 978-1608314447.
5. Gruber, Wenzel (1869). Beitrage Zur Anatomie Des Schadelgrundes. ISBN 9781162306223.

External links

• Anatomy figure: 22:5b-10 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Internal view of skull."
• Photo of model at Waynesburg College skeleton/foramenlacerum
• cranialnerves at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (VII)
• "Anatomy diagram: 34257.000-1". Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator. Elsevier. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22.
• Image at ucsd.edu