Fossa (anatomy) - Wikipedia

Depression or hollow, usually in a bone This article is about the anatomical feature. For the planetary geology feature, see Fossa (geology). For other uses, see Fossa (disambiguation).

Fossa
Details
Identifiers
Latin	fossa
TA98	A02.0.00.034
FMA	45791
Anatomical terminology[edit on Wikidata]

In anatomy, a fossa (/ˈfɒsə/;[1][2] pl.: fossae (/ˈfɒsiː/ or /ˈfɒsaɪ/); from Latin 'ditch, trench') is a depression or hollow, usually in a bone, such as the hypophyseal fossa (the depression in the sphenoid bone).[3] Some examples include:

In the skull:

• Cranial fossae
  • Anterior cranial fossa
  • Middle cranial fossa
    • Interpeduncular fossa
  • Posterior cranial fossa
• Hypophyseal fossa
• Temporal bone fossae
  • Mandibular fossa
  • Jugular fossa
• Infratemporal fossa
• Pterygopalatine fossa
• Pterygoid fossa
• Lacrimal fossae
  • Fossa for lacrimal gland
  • Fossa for lacrimal sac
• Scaphoid fossa
• Condyloid fossa
• Rhomboid fossa

In the mandible:

• Retromolar fossa

In the torso:

• Fossa ovalis (heart)
• Infraclavicular fossa
• Pyriform fossa
• Substernal fossa
• Iliac fossa
• Ovarian fossa
• Paravesical fossa
• Coccygeal fossa
• Navicular fossae
  • Navicular fossa of male urethra
  • Fossa of vestibule of vagina
• Ischioanal fossa

In the upper limb:

• Supraclavicular fossa
• Radial fossa
• On the scapula:
  • Glenoid fossa
  • Supraspinous fossa
  • Infraspinous fossa
  • Subscapular fossa
• Cubital fossa (a.k.a. Antecubital fossa or chelidon)
• Olecranon fossa

In the lower limb:

• Fossa ovalis (thigh)
• Trochanteric fossa
• Acetabular fossa
• Popliteal fossa
• Intercondyloid fossae
  • Anterior intercondyloid fossa
  • Posterior intercondyloid fossa
• Intercondylar fossa of femur

See also

[edit]

• Foramen

References

[edit]

1. ^ OED 2nd edition, 1989.
2. ^ Entry "fossa" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
3. ^ Venieratos D, Anagnostopoulou S, Garidou A., A new morphometric method for the sella turcica and the hypophyseal fossa and its clinical relevance.;Folia Morphol (Warsz). 2005 Nov;64(4):240-7. PMID 16425149

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