Temporal bone

Changed by Edgar Lorente, 21 Nov 2020

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The temporal bone is situated on the sides and the base of the cranium and lateral to the temporal lobe of the cerebrum. The temporal bone is one of the most important calvarial and skull base bones.

Gross anatomy

The temporal bone is very complex and consists of five parts ^1,2:

Some anatomists describe only 4 parts of the temporal bone, with the mastoid and petrous parts combined as a petromastoid part ³.

The temporal bone can also be divided into otologic zones:

the medial third of the external auditory canal (part of the external ear)
middle ear (tympanic cavity)
inner ear
internal auditory canal

Articulations

There are four intrinsic fissures between the divisions of the temporal bone ^4,5:

There are many named extrinsic fissures between the temporal bone and other cranial bones ^4,5:

-<li>the medial third of the <a title="External auditory canal" href="/articles/external-auditory-canal">external auditory canal</a> (part of the <a href="/articles/external-ear">external ear</a>)</li>
~~-<li><a title="Middle ear" href="/articles/middle-ear">middle ear (tympanic cavity)</a></li>~~
~~-<li><a title="Inner ear" href="/articles/inner-ear">inner ear</a></li>~~
~~-<li><a title="Internal auditory canal (IAC)" href="/articles/internal-acoustic-canal">internal auditory canal</a></li>~~
+<li>the medial third of the <a href="/articles/external-auditory-canal">external auditory canal</a> (part of the <a href="/articles/external-ear">external ear</a>)</li>
+<li><a href="/articles/middle-ear">middle ear (tympanic cavity)</a></li>
+<li><a href="/articles/inner-ear">inner ear</a></li>
+<li><a href="/articles/internal-acoustic-canal">internal auditory canal</a></li>

Images Changes:

Image ( update )

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Figure 37: diagram - medial temporal bone

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Image 4 CT (Axial Annotated) ( create )

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Figure 2: temporal bone structures ~~(CT anatomy~~(axial)

Image 5 CT (Coronal Annotated) ( create )

Image 6 CT (Stenvers Annotated) ( create )

Image 7 CT (Labelled) ( update )

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Figure 45: normal petrous temporal bone axial CT

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Image 8 Diagram ( update )

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Figure 26: diagram - skull and facial bones

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