The irregular depression found on the posterior inner surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone just below its crest and above and lateral to the internal acoustic meatus[MP]. [ MP:0009822 ]
Synonyms: fossa subarcuata
Term information
pheno_slim
In the temporal bone, above and between the aquæductus vestibuli is an irregular depression which lodges a process of the dura mater and transmits a small vein and the subarcuate artery[1] a branch of the internal auditory artery, which is an end artery that supplies blood to the inner ear ; in the infant this depression is represented by a large fossa, the subarcuate fossa, which extends backward as a blind tunnel under the superior semicircular canal. It is extensive in most primates (except for great apes) and nearly all mammals. In these animals, the subarcuate fossa houses a part of the cerebellum, the petrosal lobe[WP]
Term relations
- cranial fossa
- part of some petrous part of temporal bone
- contributes to morphology of some temporal bone