Identify the function of the anatomical structure indicated by the arrow in the image below.
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Options:
explanation: The image shows a basal view of the skull base, with the front of the skull at the top, the occipital bone at the bottom, and the foramen magnum in the centre. The vestibulocochlear nerve enters the skull via the acoustic meatus, an opening found in the petrous part of the temporal bone, posteromedial to the structure indicated by the blue arrow. This structure is the foramen spinosum, which is a small opening within the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. It is found posterolateral to the larger foramen ovale and anterior to the internal acoustic meatus and the jugular foramen (all of these can be seen in the image).
name: Allows the passage of the vestibulocochlear nerve into the skull
label: e
answer: no
explanation: The image shows a basal view of the skull base, with the front of the skull at the top, the occipital bone at the bottom, and the foramen magnum in the centre. The mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve leaves the skull through the foramen ovale, a large oval opening found in the grater wing of the sphenoid bone, anteromedial to the structure indicated by the blue arrow. This structure is the foramen spinosum, which is a small opening within the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. It is found posterolateral to the larger foramen ovale and anterior to the internal acoustic meatus and the jugular foramen (all of these can be seen in the image).
name: Allows the passage of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve
label: b
answer: no
explanation: The image shows a basal view of the skull base, with the front of the skull at the top, the occipital bone at the bottom, and the foramen magnum in the centre. The maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve leaves the skull through the foramen rotundum, a large round opening found in the grater wing of the sphenoid bone, anteromedial to the foramen ovale and to the structure indicated by the blue arrow. This structure is the foramen spinosum, which is a small opening within the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. It is found posterolateral to the larger foramen ovale and anterior to the internal acoustic meatus and the jugular foramen (all of these can be seen in the image).
name: Allows the passage of the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve
label: c
answer: no
explanation: The image shows a basal view of the skull base, with the front of the skull at the top, the occipital bone at the bottom, and the foramen magnum in the centre. The blue arrow points to the foramen spinosum, which is a small opening within the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. It is found posterolateral to the larger foramen ovale and anterior to the internal acoustic meatus and the jugular foramen (all of these can be seen in the image). The function of the foramen spinosum is to allow the middle meningeal artery, a branch of the external carotid artery, into the skull to supply the meninges.
name: Allows the passage of the middle meningeal artery into the skull
label: a
answer: yes
explanation: The image shows a basal view of the skull base, with the front of the skull at the top, the occipital bone at the bottom, and the foramen magnum in the centre. The glossopharyngeal nerve leaves the skull via the jugular foramen, a large opening of an irregular shape found at the junction between the petrous part of the temporal bone and the occipital bone, posterior to the structure indicated by the blue arrow. This structure is the foramen spinosum, which is a small opening within the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. It is found posterolateral to the larger foramen ovale and anterior to the internal acoustic meatus and the jugular foramen (all of these can be seen in the image).
name: Allows the passage of the glossopharyngeal nerve out of the skull
label: d
answer: no

Correct answer: a