Torus tubarius

Torus tubarius
Auditory tube, laid open by a cut in its long axis (torus tubarius not labeled)
Latin	Torus tubarius
Gray's	subject #230 1043

The base of the cartilaginous portion of the eustachian tube (pharyngotympanic tube; auditory tube) lies directly under the mucous membrane of the nasal part of the pharynx, where it forms an elevation, the torus tubarius, the torus of the auditory tube, or cushion, behind the pharyngeal orifice of the tube. The torus tubarius is very close to the tubal tonsil,^[1] which is sometimes also called the tonsil of (the) torus tubarius.^[2] Equating the torus with its tonsil however might be seen as incorrect or imprecise.

Two folds run posteriorly and anteriorly:

• posteriorly, the vertical fold of mucous membrane, the salpingopharyngeal fold, stretches from the lower part of the torus tubarius; it contains the Salpingopharyngeus muscle which origin from the superior border of medial lamina of the cartilage,^[3] it passes downward and blends with the posterior fasciculus of the palatopharyngeus muscle.

• anteriorly, the second and smaller fold, the salpingopalatine fold, smaller than the salpingopharyngeal fold, contains some fibers of muscle, called salpingopalatine muscle by Simkins (1943),^[3] it stretches from the superior border of lateral lamina of the cartilage, anteroinferiorly, to the back of the hard palate. The tensor veli palatini does not contribute to the fold, since the origin is deep to the cartilaginous opening.

References

This article incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy.

External links

• 31:14-0102 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
• MedEd at Loyola grossanatomy/dissector/labs/h_n/nasal/na4_1.html
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 25420.000-1