Pterygoid hamulus

The pterygoid hamulus is a hook-like process at the lower extremity of the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone of the skull. It is the superior origin of the pterygomandibular raphe, and the levator veli palatini muscle.

Pterygoid hamulus
Sphenoid bone. Anterior and inferior surfaces. (Hamulus labeled at bottom left.)
Sagittal section of skull. (Sphenoid is in yellow, and pterygoid hamulus labeled at bottom center.)
Details
Part ofsphenoid bone of skull
Systemskeletal
Identifiers
Latinhamulus pterygoideus
TA98A02.1.05.051
TA2637
FMA54722
Anatomical terms of bone

Structure

The pterygoid hamulus is part of the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone of the skull. Its tip is rounded off.[1] It has an average length of 7.2 mm, an average depth of 1.4 mm, and an average width of 2.3 mm.[1] The tendon of tensor veli palatini muscle glides around it.[1]

Function

The pterygoid hamulus is the superior origin of the pterygomandibular raphe. It is also the origin of levator veli palatini muscle.[1]

Clinical significance

Rarely, the pterygoid hamulus may be enlarged, which may cause mouth pain.[2]

See also

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 151 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

  1. Putz, R.; Kroyer, A. (1 January 1999). "Functional morphology of the pterygoid hamulus". Anatomischer Anzeiger. 181 (1): 85–88. doi:10.1016/s0940-9602(99)80099-5. ISSN 1618-0402. PMID 10081567.
  2. Sasaki, T.; Imai, Y.; Fujibayashi, T. (2001). "A case of elongated pterygoid hamulus syndrome". Oral Diseases. 7 (2): 131–133. doi:10.1034/j.1601-0825.2001.70212.x. ISSN 1601-0825.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.