Planum sphenoidale

Last revised by Andrew Murphy on 1 Feb 2021

The planum sphenoidale is a common term for the anterior horizontal part of the superior surface of the body of the sphenoid bone. It is known in the Terminologia Anatomica (2019) as the jugum sphenoideum or sphenoidal yoke 1.

Gross anatomy

It forms part of the anterior skull base, separating the anterior cranial fossa from the sphenoid sinuses.

Posteriorly, the structure terminates as the limbus sphenoidale and borders the chiasmatic sulcus 2,3.

Anteriorly, the sphenoid bone articulates with the cribriform plates of the ethmoid bone 4 via the ethmoidal spine.

Laterally, the planum sphenoidale continues as the lesser wings of the sphenoid.

Related pathology

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