The middle meningeal artery enters the cranial cavity through the foramen spinosum. An extradural (epidural) hematoma classically results from its injury. The foramen spinosum is a foramen in which cranial bone?
- A Greater wing of sphenoid bone ✓
- B Temporal bone (squamous part)
- C Parietal bone
- D Frontal bone
Correct answer: A. Greater wing of sphenoid bone
Explanation
The foramen spinosum is located in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone, near its posterior margin. The middle meningeal artery (branch of the maxillary artery from the external carotid) enters through this foramen and runs in grooves in the temporal and parietal bones. A temporal bone fracture (pterion fracture) may tear the anterior division of the middle meningeal artery at the thinnest part of the skull (pterion), causing a classic lucid-interval epidural hematoma visible as a biconvex (lenticular) hyperdensity on CT.
Reference: BD Chaurasia's Human Anatomy, 8th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.