Sphenoid Bone, Lateral View

Description

Laterally, the sphenoid is dominated by the greater wing and the pterygoid process, with the lesser wing projecting superiorly toward the anterior cranial fossa. The squamous part of the temporal bone abuts the posterior margin of the greater wing at the sphenosquamosal suture, while the zygomatic process of the temporal bone lies anterolateral to the mandibular fossa and helps frame the zygomatic arch. Inferiorly, the lateral and medial pterygoid plates descend from the sphenoid, bracketing the pterygoid fossa, and the spine of the sphenoid sits posteroinferior to the greater wing near the region where the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve courses in the infratemporal fossa. A bony crossroads. For teaching skull base anatomy, a lateral view is often the cleanest way to orient the relationship between the sphenoid and temporal bone before students or trainees are asked to mentally rotate into coronal and axial CT planes. Surgeons working the lateral skull base and infratemporal fossa rely on these sutural boundaries and osseous landmarks to localize the foramen spinosum and foramen ovale region where the middle meningeal artery and V3 pass, and to anticipate the proximity of the temporomandibular joint and the pterygoid musculature. Misreading this spatial map can translate into real complications, from iatrogenic vascular injury to postoperative trismus. Use this illustration in head and neck anatomy courses, dental and maxillofacial training modules, and radiology teaching files that correlate lateral skull landmarks with skull base foramina on CT. It also fits well in operative manuals discussing approaches to the infratemporal fossa, mandibular nerve blocks near the foramen ovale, or middle meningeal artery anatomy in relation to the sphenoid and temporal bones. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.