Question

1. Describe the purpose of osteological landmarks (process, fossa, foramen). Identify 1-2 examples of each.

Answer 1

Process; Projection and outgrowth of tissue from a larger body.

eg; 1] The coronoid process is a triangular eminence projecting forward from the upper and front part of the ulna. Its base is continuous with the body of the bone, and of considerable strength. Its medial surface, by its prominent, free margin, serves for the attachment of part of the ulnar collateral ligament.

2] The Zygomatic process rises from two roots on the anterolateral face of the squamous temporal bone and is a thin, arch-shaped protuberance.

The anterior end of the arch rises in a medial location from the articular tubercle. Its anterior root originates medially from the articular tubercle. A rough, toothed suture is created by anterior root of the bony outgrowth that joins the zygomatic bone.

Its posterior root develops above the external acoustic meatus as a ridge. The posterior root extends as the superior and the anterior root proceeds as the inferior margin of the protrusion.

Fossa; a  hollow or depressed area.

eg;1]glenoid fossa - a deep concavity in the temporal bone at the root of the zygomatic arch that receives the condyle of the mandible.

2] The temporal fossa is a depression in the temporal region and one of the largest landmarks on the skull. The temporal bone, the sphenoid bone, the parietal bone, and the frontal bone contribute to its concave wall. It is superior to the infratemporal fossa which lies beneath the zygomatic arch.

Foramen; Foramen is a hole in a bone. They normally let something like a nerve pass through the bone. In the case of the vertebral foramen, they protect a nerve.

eg;1] Obturator foramen, the opening created by the ischium and pubis bones of the pelvis. 2] Vertebral foramen, the foramen formed by the anterior segment (the body), and the posterior part, the vertebral arch.