Supraorbital foramen

Opening above the eye socket, below the forehead

Supraorbital foramen
The skull from the front. ("Supraorbital foramen" is top caption for right side white-box.)
Frontal bone. Outer surface. ("Supraorbital notch or foramen" labeled at lower right arch.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	foramen supraorbitale
TA98	A02.1.03.009
TA2	527
FMA	57412
Anatomical terms of bone [edit on Wikidata]

The supraorbital foramen, is a bony elongated opening located above the orbit (eye socket) and under the forehead. It is part of the frontal bone of the skull. The supraorbital foramen lies directly under the eyebrow. In some people this foramen is incomplete and is then known as the supraorbital notch.^[1]

Structure

The supraorbital foramen is a small groove at superior and medial margin of the orbit in the frontal bone. It is part of the frontal bone of the skull.^[2] It arches transversely below the superciliary arches and is the upper part of the brow ridge. It is thin and prominent in its lateral two-thirds, but rounded in its medial third.^[3] Between these two parts, the supraorbital nerve, the supraorbital artery, and the supraorbital vein pass. The supraorbital nerve divides into superficial and deep branches after it has left the supraorbital foramen.^[4]

Additional images

Frontal bone. Inner surface.
Side view of head, showing surface relations of bones.
Cranium. Supraorbital foramen.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 186 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

^ Tortora, G; Derrickson, B (2011). Principles of anatomy & physiology (13th. ed.). Wiley. p. 214. ISBN 9780470646083.
^ Irby, Nita (2014). "23 - Ophthalmology". Equine Emergencies (4th ed.). Saunders. pp. 379–417. doi:10.1016/B978-1-4557-0892-5.00023-4. ISBN 978-1-4557-0892-5.
^ Forehead Anatomy at eMedicine
^ Knize, David M. (1995). "A study of the supraorbital nerve". Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 96 (3): 564–9. doi:10.1097/00006534-199509000-00007. PMID 7638280.

External links

"Anatomy diagram: 34256.000-1". Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator. Elsevier. Archived from the original on 2012-12-27.

Neurocranium of the skull

Occipital

Squamous part	external Inion/External occipital protuberance Occipital bun External occipital crest Nuchal lines Suprainiac fossa planes Occipital Nuchal internal Cruciform eminence Internal occipital protuberance Internal occipital crest Groove for transverse sinus
Lateral parts	Condyle Condyloid fossa Condylar canal Hypoglossal canal jugular Jugular process Jugular tubercle
Basilar part	Pharyngeal tubercle Clivus
Other	Foramen magnum Basion Opisthion

Parietal

Frontal

Squamous part	Frontal suture Frontal eminence external Superciliary arches Glabella foramina Supraorbital foramen Brow ridge Foramen cecum Zygomatic process internal Sagittal sulcus Frontal crest
Orbital part	Ethmoidal notch Fossa for lacrimal gland Trochlear fovea Frontal sinus Frontonasal duct

Temporal

Squamous part	Articular tubercle Suprameatal triangle Mandibular fossa Petrotympanic fissure Zygomatic process
Mastoid part	Mastoid foramen Mastoid process (Mastoid cells) Mastoid notch Occipital groove Sigmoid sulcus Mastoid antrum (Aditus)
Petrous part	Carotid canal Facial canal Hiatus Internal auditory meatus Cochlear aqueduct Stylomastoid foramen fossae Subarcuate fossa Jugular fossa canaliculi Inferior tympanic Mastoid Styloid process Petrosquamous suture (note: ossicles in petrous part, but not part of temporal bone)
Tympanic part	Suprameatal spine

Sphenoid

Surfaces	Superior surface: Sella turcica Dorsum sellae Tuberculum sellae Hypophysial fossa Posterior clinoid processes Ethmoidal spine Chiasmatic groove Middle clinoid process Petrosal process Clivus Lateral surface: Carotid groove Sphenoidal lingula Anterior surface: Sphenoidal sinuses
Great wings	foramina Rotundum Ovale Vesalii Spinosum Spine Infratemporal crest Sulcus of auditory tube
Small wings	Superior orbital fissure Anterior clinoid process Optic canal
Pterygoid processes	fossae Pterygoid Scaphoid pterygoid plates Lateral Medial Pterygoid canal Hamulus
Other	Body Sphenoidal conchae

Ethmoid

Plates	Cribriform plate Crista galli Olfactory foramina Perpendicular plate
Surfaces	Lateral surface Orbital lamina Uncinate process Medial surface Supreme nasal concha Superior nasal concha Superior meatus Middle nasal concha Middle meatus
Labyrinth	Ethmoid sinus ethmoidal foramina Posterior Anterior

Foramina of the skull (and canals, fissures, meatus, and hiatus)

Anterior cranial fossa

to Orbit:	ethmoidal foramina anterior posterior
to Nasal cavity:	olfactory foramina (CN-I) foramen cecum

Middle cranial fossa

to Orbit:	optic canal (CN-II) superior orbital fissure (CN-III,IV,V1,VI)
to Pterygopalatine fossa:	foramen rotundum (CN-V2) pterygoid canal
to Infratemporal fossa:	foramen ovale (CN-V3) foramen spinosum/carotid canal
other:	foramen lacerum hiatus for greater petrosal nerve hiatus for lesser petrosal nerve sphenoidal emissary foramen

Posterior cranial fossa

internal auditory meatus/facial canal/stylomastoid foramen (CN-VII,VIII)
jugular foramen (CN-IX,X,XI)
foramen magnum (CN-XI)
hypoglossal canal (CN-XII)
condylar canal
mastoid foramen

Orbit

to Nasal cavity:	nasolacrimal canal
to face:	supraorbital notch foramen infraorbital foramen groove zygomatic foramen -facial -temporal
to Pterygopalatine fossa:	inferior orbital fissure
other:	Inferior orbital fissure Fossa for lacrimal sac

Pterygopalatine fossa

to Nasal cavity:	sphenopalatine foramen
to Oral cavity:	greater palatine canal foramen lesser palatine canals foramina
to Infratemporal fossa:	pterygomaxillary fissure
to Nasopharynx:	palatovaginal canal