Walls of the Tympanic Cavity or Middle Ear

• This cavity is shaped like a narrow six-sided box that has convex medial and lateral walls.
• It has the shape of the biconcave lens in cross-section (like a red blood cell).

The Roof or Tegmental Wall

• This is formed by a thin plate of bone, called the tegmen tympani (L. tegmen, roof).
• It separates the tympanic cavity from the dura on the floor of middle cranial fossa.
• The tegmen tympani also covers the aditus ad antrum.

The Floor or Jugular Wall

• This wall is thicker than the roof.
• It separates the tympanic cavity from the superior bulb of the internal jugular vein. The internal jugular vein and the internal carotid artery diverge at the floor of the tympanic cavity.

• The tympanic nerve, a branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), passes through an aperture in the floor of the tympanic cavity and its branches form the tympanic plexus.

The Lateral or Membranous Wall

• This is formed almost entirely by the tympanic membrane.
• Superiorly it is formed by the lateral bony wall of the epitympanic recess.
• The handle of the malleus is incorporated in the tympanic membrane, and its head extends into the epitympanic recess.

The Medial or Labyrinthine Wall

• This separates the middle ear from the membranous labyrinth (semicircular ducts and cochlear duct) encased in the bony labyrinth.
• The medial wall of the tympanic cavity exhibits several important features.

• Centrally, opposite the tympanic membrane, there is a rounded promontory (L. eminence) formed by the first turn of the cochlea.
• The tympanic plexus of nerves, lying on the promontory, is formed by fibres of the facial and glossopharyngeal nerves.

• The medial wall of the tympanic cavity also has two small apertures or windows.

• The fenestra vestibuli (oval window) is closed by the base of the stapes, which is bound to its margins by an annular ligament.
• Through this window, vibrations of the stapes are transmitted to the perilymph window within the bony labyrinth of the inner ear.

• The fenestra cochleae (round window) is inferior to the fenestra vestibuli.
• This is closed by a second tympanic membrane.

The Posterior or Mastoid Wall

• This wall has several openings in it.
• In its superior part is the aditus ad antrum (mastoid antrum), which leads posteriorly from the epitympanic recess to the mastoid cells.

• Inferiorly is a pinpoint aperture on the apex of a tiny, hollow projection of bone, called the pyramidal eminence (pyramid).
• This eminence contains the stapedius muscle.
• Its aperture transmits the tendon of the stapedius, which enters the tympanic cavity and inserts into the stapes.

• Lateral to the pyramid, there is an aperture through which the chorda tympani nerve, a branch of the facial nerve (CN VII), enters the tympanic cavity.

The Anterior Wall or Carotid Wall

• This wall is a narrow as the medial and lateral walls converge anteriorly.
• There are two openings in the anterior wall.

• The superior opening communicates with a canal occupied by the tensor tympani muscle.
• Its tendon inserts into the handle of the malleus and keeps the tympanic membrane tense.

• Inferiorly, the tympanic cavity communicates with the nasopharynx through the auditory tube.

The External Nose

• Noses vary considerably in size and shape, mainly as a result of the differences in the nasal cartilages and the depth of the glabella.

• The inferior surface of the nose is pierced by two apertures, called the anterior nares (L. nostrils).
• These are separated from each other by the nasal septum (septum nasi).
• Each naris is bounded laterally by an ala (L. wing), i.e., the side of the nose.

• The posterior nares apertures or choanae open into the nasopharynx.

Muscles acting on the Temporomandibular Joint

• Movements of the temporomandibular joint are chiefly from the action of the muscles of mastication.
• The temporalis, masseter, and medial pterygoid muscles produce biting movements.
• The lateral pterygoid muscles protrude the mandible with the help from the medial pterygoid muscles and retruded largely by the posterior fibres of the temporalis muscle.
• Gravity is sufficient to depress the mandible, but if there is resistance, the lateral pterygoid, suprahyoid and infrahyoid, mylohyoid and anterior digastric muscles are activated.

The Superior Roof of the Orbit

• The superior wall or roof of the orbit is formed almost completely by the orbital plate of the frontal bone.
• Posteriorly, the superior wall is formed by the lesser wing of the sphenoid bone.

• The roof of the orbit is thin, translucent, and gently arched. This plate of bone separates the orbital cavity and the anterior cranial fossa.

• The optic canal is located in the posterior part of the roof.

- The forehead is formed by the smooth, broad, convex plate of bone called the frontal squama.
- In foetal skulls, the halves of the frontal squama are divided by a metopic suture.
- In most people, the halves of the frontal bone begin to fuse during infancy and the suture between is usually not visible after 6 years of age.
- The frontal bone forms the thin roof of the orbits (eye sockets).
- Just superior to and parallel with each supraorbital margin is a bony ridge, the superciliary arch, which overlies the frontal sinus. This arch is more pronounced in males.
- Between these arches there is a gently, rounded, medial elevation called the gabella; this term derives from the Latin word glabellus meaning smooth and hairless. In most people, the skin over the gabella is hairless.
-The slight prominences of the forehead on each side, superior to the superciliary arches, are called frontal eminences (tubers).
- The supraorbital foramen (occasionally a notch), which transmits the supraorbital vessels and nerve is located in the medial part of the supraorbital margin.
- The frontal bone articulates with the two parietal bones at the coronal suture.
-It also articulates with the nasal bones at the frontonasal suture. At the point where this suture crosses the internasal suture in the medial plane, there is an anthropological landmark called the nasion . The depression is located at the root of the nose, where it joins the cranium.
- The frontal bone also articulates with the zygomatic, lacrimal, ethmoid, and sphenoid bones.
In about 8% of adult skulls, a remnant of the inferior part of the metopic (interfrontal) suture is visible. It may be mistaken in radiographs for a fracture line by inexperienced observers.
- The superciliary arches are relatively sharp ridges of bone and a blow to them may lacerate the skin and cause bleeding.
- Bruising of the skin over a superciliary arch causes tissue fluid and blood to accumulate in the surrounding connective tissue, which gravitates into the upper eyelid and around the eye. This results in swelling and a "black eye".
- Compression of the supraorbital nerve as it emerges from its foramen causes considerable pain, a fact that may be used by anaesthesiologists and anaesthetists to determine the depth of anaesthesia and by physicians attempting to arouse a moribund patient.

The Parotid Glands

• The parotid glands are the largest of the three pairs of salivary glands.
• Each gland is wedged between the mandible and the sternocleidomastoid muscle and partly covers them.

• The parotid gland is wrapped with a fibrous capsule (parotid fascia) that is continuous with the deep investing fascia of the neck.

• Viewed superficially, the parotid gland is somewhat triangular in shape.
• Its apex is posterior to the angle of the mandible and its base is along the zygomatic arch.
• The parotid gland overlaps the posterior part of the masseter muscle.

• The parotid duct (Stensen's duct) is about 5 cm long and 5 mm in diameter.
• It passes horizontally from the anterior edge of the gland.
• At the anterior border of the masseter muscle, the parotid duct turns medially and pierces the buccinator muscle.
• It enters the oral cavity opposite the second maxillary molar.

Blood Vessels of the Parotid Gland

• This gland is supplied by branches of the external carotid artery.
• The veins from the parotid gland drains into the retromandibular vein, which enters the internal jugular vein.

Lymphatic Drainage of the Parotid Gland

• The lymph vessels of this gland end in the superficial and deep cervical lymph nodes.

Nerves of the Parotid Gland

• These nerves are derived from the auriculotemporal nerve and from the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

• The parasympathetic fibres are derived from the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) through the otic ganglion.
• Stimulation of these fibres produces a thin watery (serous) saliva to flow from the parotid duct.

• The sympathetic fibres are derived from the cervical ganglia through the external carotid plexus.
• Stimulation of these fibres produces a thick mucous saliva.