| Pterygomaxillary fissure | |
|---|---|
 Left infratemporal fossa. (Pterygomaxillary fissure labeled at bottom left.) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fissura pterygomaxillaris |
| TA98 | A02.1.00.026 |
| TA2 | 430 |
| FMA | 76627 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Thepterygomaxillary fissure is a fissure of thehuman skull. It is vertical, and descends at right angles from the medial end of theinferior orbital fissure. It is a triangular interval, formed by the divergence of themaxilla from thepterygoid process of thesphenoid.
It connects theinfratemporal with thepterygopalatine fossa, and transmits the terminal part of themaxillary artery. Theposterior superior alveolar nerve of the maxillary nerve goes from the pterygopalatine fossa to the infratemporal region via this fissure. Thepterygopalatine plates are separated laterally from the posterior surface of the body of the maxilla by the pterygomaxillary fissure.
In older texts, the pterygomaxillary fissure is sometimes called the pterygopalatine fissure.
This article incorporates text in thepublic domain frompage 185 of the 20th edition ofGray's Anatomy(1918)
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