Ethmoid bone

Last revised by Frank Gaillard on 11 May 2024

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Jones J, Gaillard F, Feger J, et al. Ethmoid bone. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 15 May 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-4785

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-4785

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/4785

rID:

4785

Article created:

16 Oct 2008, Jeremy Jones ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.

View Jeremy Jones's current disclosures

Last revised:

11 May 2024, Frank Gaillard ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Frank Gaillard had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Frank Gaillard's current disclosures

Revisions:

21 times, by 11 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Head & Neck

Sections:

Anatomy

Tags:

stub, refs, anatomy rewrite

Synonyms:

Ethmoidal bone

The ethmoid bone is a single midline facial bone that separates the nasal cavity from the brain and is located at the roof of the nose and between the orbits. It is a cubical shape and is relatively lightweight because of its spongy construction and air-filled sinuses. It contributes to the anterior cranial fossa.

Gross anatomy

The ethmoid bone consists of four parts:

horizontal (cribriform) plate
vertical (perpendicular) plate
2 lateral masses (labyrinths)

The horizontal plate features include:

foramina in cribriform plate: for olfactory nerve filaments (20), olfactory bulb lies in the olfactory fossa
crista galli (L: rooster's crest): thick, smooth triangular process, attachment for falx cerebri
nasal slits: anteriorly, passage of anterior ethmoidal nerve

The vertical plate forms the part of the bony nasal septum:

anterior border articulates with the frontal bone and crests of nasal bones
posterior border features the sphenoidal crest which articulates with the vomer

Labyrinths (2) house anterior and posterior ethmoidal air cells.

lateral surface features include: the orbit, lamina papyracea, uncinate process below: medial wall of the maxillary sinus which articulates with the inferior concha
medial surface features include: the nasal cavity, superior nasal concha, and middle nasal concha helps form the middle meatus, and the infundibulum opens there
upper surface: grooves articulate with frontal bone to form anterior and posterior ethmoidal canals

Articulations

Articulates with 15 bones in total (4 cranial bones and 11 facial bones):

cranial bones include frontal, sphenoid, and sphenoidal conchae (2)
facial bones are paired or unpaired:
- paired bones are the nasal bones, maxillae, lacrimal bones, palatine bones, and inferior nasal conchae
- the single unpaired midline bone is the vomer

References

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