| Bone: Subarcuate fossa | |
|---|---|
| Left temporal bone. Inner surface. (Subarcuate fossa not labeled, but aquæductus vestibuli labeled at lower right.) | |
| Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Subarcuate fossa not labeled, but temporal bone is identified in pink, and "Eminentia arcuata" is labeled.) | |
| Latin | f. subarcuata ossis temporalis |
| Gray's | subject #34 143 |
In the temporal bone, above and between the aquæductus vestibuli is an irregular depression which lodges a process of the dura mater and transmits a small vein and the subarcuate artery[1] a branch of the internal auditory artery, which is an end artery that supplies blood to the inner ear ; in the infant this depression is represented by a large fossa, the subarcuate fossa, which extends backward as a blind tunnel under the superior semicircular canal.
It is extensive in most primates (except for great apes) and nearly all mammals. In these animals, the subarcuate fossa houses a part of the cerebellum, the petrosal lobe.[2][3]
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.