Squamosal Margin Of The Sphenoid's Greater Wing

Description

Sphenoid greater wing anatomy is centered on the squamosal margin, the posterior border that meets the squamous part of the temporal bone along the lateral cranial wall. From a lateral skull perspective, this margin lies posterior to the broad surface of the greater wing and approaches the temporal squama superiorly, while remaining superior to the infratemporal surface that contributes to the roof of the infratemporal fossa. Near its posterolateral corner, the greater wing often presents the sphenoidal spine (spina ossis sphenoidalis), a palpable bony point that sits just medial to the temporomandibular region and helps orient adjacent foramina on the greater wing. It is a tight suture line. This border matters because it sits in the same structural neighborhood as the pterion and the anterolateral skull base, where thin bone and major vascular grooves intersect. Fractures traversing the greater wing and temporal squama can extend toward the groove for the middle meningeal artery and are classically associated with epidural hematoma, a practical correlation when teaching lateral skull trauma patterns and CT bone windows. For skull base surgeons, accurate appreciation of the sphenoid-temporal junction also supports orientation during a pterional craniotomy and during exposure of sphenoid wing meningiomas, where hyperostosis may obscure normal sutural landmarks. Use this illustration in gross anatomy and neuroanatomy teaching sets on cranial sutures, in radiology atlases correlating sutural anatomy with CT reconstruction, or in operative textbooks that label lateral skull base landmarks near the temporal squama and sphenoid greater wing. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.