| Petrotympanic fissure | |
|---|---|
 Left temporal bone. Outer surface. (Petrotympanic fissure is labeled at left, fourth from top.) | |
 The right membrana tympani with the malleus and the chorda tympani, viewed from within, from behind, and from above. (Glaserian fissure labeled at center left.) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | fissura petrotympanica |
| TA98 | A02.1.06.074 |
| TA2 | 717 |
| FMA | 55463 |
| Anatomical terms of bone | |
The petrotympanic fissure (also known as the squamotympanic fissure or the glaserian fissure) is a fissure in the temporal bone[1] that runs from the temporomandibular joint to the tympanic cavity.[2]
The mandibular fossa is bounded, in front, by the articular tubercle; behind, by the tympanic part of the bone, which separates it from the external acoustic meatus; it is divided into two parts by a narrow slit, the petrotympanic fissure.
It opens just above and in front of the ring of bone into which the tympanic membrane is inserted; in this situation it is a mere slit about 2 mm. in length. It lodges the anterior process and anterior ligament of the malleus, and gives passage to the anterior tympanic branch of the internal maxillary artery.
- ^ Petrotympanic+fissure Archived October 9, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at eMedicine Dictionary
- ^ Eckerdal O (1991). "The petrotympanic fissure: a link connecting the tympanic cavity and the temporomandibular joint". Cranio. 9 (1): 15–22. doi:10.1080/08869634.1991.11678343. PMID 1843474.