Foramen cecum (frontal bone)

Jump to: navigation, search

Bone: Foramen cecum (frontal bone)

Frontal bone. Inner surface. ("Foramen caecum" visible as black hole near center bottom.)

Base of the skull. Upper surface. ("Foramen caecum" is third label from the top.)
Latin	f. caecum ossis frontalis
Gray's	subject #33 137
Dorlands / Elsevier	f_12/12372871

The frontal crest of the frontal bone ends below in a small notch which is converted into a foramen, the foramen cecum, by articulation with the ethmoid.

This foramen varies in size in different subjects, and is frequently impervious; when open, it transmits a vein from the nose to the superior sagittal sinus. This has clinical importance in that infections of the nose and nearby areas can be transmitted to the meninges and brain from what is known as the danger triangle of the face.

Additional images

Sagittal section of the skull, showing the sinuses of the dura.

External links

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant. Template:Skull

v • d • e Foramina of the skull (and canals, fissures, meati, and hiati)
Anterior cranial fossa	to Orbit: ethmoidal foramina (anterior, posterior) to Nasal cavity: olfactory foramina (CN-I) - foramen cecum
Middle cranial fossa	to Orbit: optic canal (CN-II) - superior orbital fissure (CN-III,IV,V1,VI) to Pterygopalatine fossa: foramen rotundum (CN-V2) - pterygoid canal to Infratemporal fossa: foramen ovale (CN-V3) - foramen spinosum/carotid canal other: foramen lacerum - hiatus for greater petrosal nerve - hiatus for lesser petrosal nerve - sphenoidal emissary foramen
Posterior cranial fossa	internal auditory meatus/facial canal/stylomastoid foramen (CN-VII,VIII) - jugular foramen (CN-IX,X,XI) - foramen magnum (CN-XI) - hypoglossal canal (CN-XII) - condylar canal - mastoid foramen
Orbit	to Nasal cavity: nasolacrimal canal to Face: supraorbital (notch, foramen) - infraorbital (foramen, groove) - zygomatic foramen (-facial, -temporal) to Pterygopalatine fossa: inferior orbital fissure
Pterygopalatine fossa	to Nasal cavity: sphenopalatine foramen to Oral cavity: greater palatine canal/greater palatine foramen - lesser palatine canals/lesser palatine foramina to Infratemporal fossa: pterygomaxillary fissure to Nasopharynx: palatovaginal canal
Nasal cavity	to Oral cavity: incisive canals - incisive foramen
Other	external acoustic meatus - mandibular foramen - mental foramen - parietal foramen - petrotympanic fissure - semilunar hiatus