Foramen magnum
| Foramen magnum | |
|---|---|
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| Upper surface of base of the skull. The hole indicated by an arrow is foramen magnum | |
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| Occipital bone. Inner surface. | |
| Latin | Foramen magnum |
| Gray's | p.129 |
| MeSH | Foramen+Magnum |
In anatomy, the foramen magnum (Latin: "great hole") is a large opening in the occipital bone of the cranium. It is one of the several oval or circular apertures in the base of the skull (the foramina), through which the medulla oblongata (an extension of the spinal cord) enters and exits the skull vault.
Apart from the transmission of the medulla oblongata and its membranes, the foramen magnum transmits the vertebral arteries, the anterior and posterior spinal arteries, the membrana tectoria and alar ligaments. It also transmits the spinal component of the accessory nerve into the cranial fossa.
Importance
In humans, the foramen magnum is farther underneath the head than in the other great apes. Thus, in humans, the neck muscles (including the occipitofrontalis muscle) do not need to be as robust in order to hold the head upright. Comparisons of the position of the foramen magnum in early hominid species are useful to determine how comfortable a particular species was when walking on two limbs (bipedalism) rather than four (quadrupedalism).
Additional images
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See also
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foramen magnum. |
- SUNY Figs 22:4b-10
- cranialnerves at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (XI)
- Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 34257.000-1
This article incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy.
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