Wikipedia
Infratemporal fossa
The infratemporal fossa is an irregularly shaped cavity, situated below and medial to the zygomatic arch. It is not fully enclosed by bone in all directions, and it contains superficial muscles that are visible during dissection after removing skin and fascia: namely, the lower part of the temporalis muscle, the lateral pterygoid, and the medial pterygoid.
Its boundaries may be defined by:
- anteriorly, by the infratemporal surface of the maxilla and the ridge which descends from its zygomatic process
- posteriorly, by the articular tubercle of the temporal and the spina angularis of the sphenoid
- superiorly, by the greater wing of the sphenoid below the infratemporal crest, and by the under surface of the temporal squama, containing the foramen ovale, which transmits the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve, and the foramen spinosum, which transmits the middle meningeal artery
- inferiorly, by the medial pterygoid muscle attaching to the mandible
- medially, by the lateral pterygoid plate
- laterally, by the ramus of mandible, which contains the mandibular foramen, leading to the mandibular canal through which the inferior alveolar nerve passes. This also contains the lingula, a triangular piece of bone that overlies the mandibular foramen antero-medially. Finally, the mylohyoid groove descends obliquely transmitting the mylohyoid nerve the only motor branch of the posterior division of the trigeminal nerve.