| obturator foramen | A large, oval or irregularly triangular aperture in the hip bone, the margins of which are formed by the pubis and the ischium; it is closed in the natural state by the obturator membrane, except for a small opening for the passage of the obturator vessels and nerve. Synonym: foramen obturatum. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| olfactory foramen | One of the openings in the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, transmitting the olfactory nerves. (05 Mar 2000) |
| optic foramen | The short canal through the lesser wing of the sphenoid bone at the apex of the orbit that gives passage to the optic nerve and the ophthalmic artery. Synonym: canalis opticus, foramen opticum, optic foramen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| thyroid foramen | An opening occasionally existing in one or both of the plates of the thyroid cartilage. Synonym: foramen thyroideum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| emissary sphenoidal foramen | <anatomy> A minute inconstant foramen in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone, anterior and medial to the foramen ovale, transmitting a small emissary vein from the cavernous sinus. Synonym: emissary sphenoidal foramen, venous foramen, Vesalius' foramen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| transverse foramen | Foramen processus transversus. Synonym: foramen processus transversi, foramen transversarium, foramen vertebroarterialis, foramen of transverse process, vertebroarterial foramen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| epiploic foramen | The passage, below and behind the portal hepatis, connecting the two sacs of the peritoneum; it is bounded anteriorly by the hepatoduodenal ligament and posteriorly by a peritoneal fold over the inferior vena cava. Synonym: foramen omentale, foramen epiploicum, aditus ad saccum peritonei minorem, Duverney's foramen, Winslow's foramen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ethmoidal foramen | Either of two foramina formed by grooves on either edge of the ethmoidal notch of the frontal bone, and completed by similar grooves on the ethmoid bone: anterior ethmoidal foramen, located in an anterior position; posterior ethmoidal foramen located in a posterior position. Synonym: foramen ethmoidale. (05 Mar 2000) |
| jugular foramen | A passage between the petrous portion of the temporal bone and the jugular process of the occipital, sometimes divided into two by the intrajugular processes; it contains the internal jugular vein, inferior petrosal sinus, the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves, and meningeal branches of the ascending pharyngeal and occipital arteries. Synonym: foramen jugulare, foramen lacerum posterius. (05 Mar 2000) |
| jugular foramen syndrome | <syndrome> Unilateral paralysis of the larynx and velum palati, with contralateral loss of pain and temperature sensibility in the parts below. Synonym: jugular foramen syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
| external acoustic foramen | The orifice of the external acoustic meatus in the tympanic portion of the temporal bone. Synonym: porus acusticus externus, external acoustic foramen, external acoustic pore, external auditory pore, external auditory foramen, orifice of external acoustic meatus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| external auditory foramen | The orifice of the external acoustic meatus in the tympanic portion of the temporal bone. Synonym: porus acusticus externus, external acoustic foramen, external acoustic pore, external auditory pore, external auditory foramen, orifice of external acoustic meatus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Ferrein's foramen | The opening on the anterior aspect of the petrous part of the temporal bone which leads to the facial canal and gives passage to the greater petrosal nerve. Synonym: hiatus canalis nervi petrosi majoris, fallopian hiatus, Ferrein's foramen, hiatus canalis facialis, hiatus of canal for greater petrosal nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| zygomaticofacial foramen | The opening on the lateral surface of the zygomatic bone below the orbital margin that transmits the zygomaticofacial nerve. Synonym: foramen zygomaticofaciale, malar foramen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| zygomatico-orbital foramen | The common opening on the orbital surface of the zygomatic bone of the canals transmitting the zygomaticofacial and zygomaticotemporal nerves; sometimes each of these canals has a separate opening on the orbital surface. Synonym: foramen zygomatico-orbitale. (05 Mar 2000) |