Asterion (anatomy)

Information about Asterion (anatomy)

Side view of head, showing surface relations of bones. (Asterion visible at center right.)
subject #46 183
Dorlands/Elsevier a_67/12164991
For other uses, see Asterion (disambiguation)


In human anatomy, the asterion is a visible, so-called craniometric, point on the exposed skull, just behind the ear, where three cranial sutures meet: the lambdoid, parieto-mastoid, and occipito-mastoid sutures.

In the adult, it lies 4 cm behind and 12 mm above the center of the entrance to the ear canal.

Neurosurgeons use this point to orientate themselves, in order to plan safe entry into the skull for some operations.

Some surgeons call it the "Mercedes point", for its resemblance to the Mercedes-Benz logo.

External links

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Bones of head and neck: cranial sutures, fontanelles, and related regions
Cranial suturesCoronal - Lambdoid - Occipitomastoid - Sphenofrontal - Sphenoparietal - Sphenosquamosal - Sphenozygomatic -Squamosal - Zygomaticotemporal - Zygomaticofrontal - Frontal/Metopic - Sagittal - Frontoethmoidal - Petrosquamous - Sphenoethmoidal - Sphenopetrosal
FontanellesAnterior fontanelle - Posterior fontanelle
Foramina of multiple bonesInferior orbital fissure - Foramen lacerum - Jugular foramen - Nasolacrimal canal
FossaeAnterior cranial fossa - Middle cranial fossa - Posterior cranial fossa - Cranial cavity
Other compound structuresAsterion - Nasion - Pterion - Dacryon - Zygomatic arch - Calvaria - Temporal fossa - Infratemporal fossa - Stephanion - Pterygomaxillary fissure - Pterygopalatine fossa
Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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Asterion can refer to:
  • Asterion, a figure in Greek mythology
  • Asterion, a river-god in Greek mythology
  • Asterion, a star, also known as Chara or as Beta Canum Venaticorum
  • The House of Asterion, a short tale by Jorge Luis Borges

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Anatomy (from the Greek ἀνατομία anatomia, from ἀνατέμνειν
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Craniometry is the technique of measuring the bones of the skull. It is distinct from phrenology, the study of personality and character, and physiognomy, the study of facial features. However, these fields have all claimed the ability to predict traits or intelligence.
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skull is a bony structure found in many animals which serves as the general framework for the head. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury.

The skull can be subdivided into two parts: the cranium and the mandible.
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outer ear is the most external portion of the ear. The outer ear includes the pinnae (also called auricle), the ear canal, and the very most superficial layer of the ear drum (also called the tympanic membrane).
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Cranial sutures are the joints between the bones of the skull (or "cranium"), bound together by Sharpey's fibres. A tiny amount of movement is permitted at sutures, which contributes to the compliance and elasticity of the skull.
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The lambdoid suture (or Lambdoidal suture) is a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint that separates the parietal and temporal bones of the skull from the occipital bone.

Its name comes from the lambda-like shape this suture makes on the back of the skull.
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The squamosal suture arches backward from the pterion and connects the temporal squama with the lower border of the parietal: this suture is continuous behind with the short, nearly horizontal parietomastoid suture
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The occipitomastoid suture is the cranial suture between the occipital bone and the mastoid portion of the temporal bone.

It is continuous with the lambdoidal suture.
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The ear canal (external auditory meatus, external acoustic meatus), is a tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The ear canal extends from the pinna to the eardrum and is about 26 mm in length and 7 mm in diameter.
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Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central, peripheral nervous system and spinal column diseases amenable to mechanical intervention.

Definition and scope

According to the U.S.
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For other uses of the name Mercedes, see Mercedes.

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eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996 by Scott Plantz and Richard Lavely, two medical doctors. It was sold to WebMD in January 2006.
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Bones are rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals.
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Head and neck anatomy focuses on the structures of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat.
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Cranial sutures are the joints between the bones of the skull (or "cranium"), bound together by Sharpey's fibres. A tiny amount of movement is permitted at sutures, which contributes to the compliance and elasticity of the skull.
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fontanelle (or fontanel) is one of two "soft spots" on a newborn human's skull. There are, however, two more fontanelles of interest, the mastoid fontanelle, and the sphenoidal fontanelle.
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Cranial sutures are the joints between the bones of the skull (or "cranium"), bound together by Sharpey's fibres. A tiny amount of movement is permitted at sutures, which contributes to the compliance and elasticity of the skull.
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The coronal suture is a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint that separates the frontal and parietal bones of the skull. At birth, the bones of the skull do not meet.

Pathology

If certain bones of the skull grow too fast then "premature closure" of the sutures may occur.
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The lambdoid suture (or Lambdoidal suture) is a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint that separates the parietal and temporal bones of the skull from the occipital bone.

Its name comes from the lambda-like shape this suture makes on the back of the skull.
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The occipitomastoid suture is the cranial suture between the occipital bone and the mastoid portion of the temporal bone.

It is continuous with the lambdoidal suture.
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The Sphenofrontal suture is the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone.

Additional images



The skull from the front.

Base of the skull. Upper surface.

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The Sphenoparietal suture is the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the parietal bone.

External links

  • SIG at UWash Sphenoparietal%20suture
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy.
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The Sphenosquamosal suture is a cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the squama of the temporal bone.

Additional images



Base of the skull. Upper surface.

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The Sphenozygomatic suture is the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the zygomatic bone.

Additional images



The skull from the front.

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The squamosal suture arches backward from the pterion and connects the temporal squama with the lower border of the parietal: this suture is continuous behind with the short, nearly horizontal parietomastoid suture
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The Zygomaticotemporal suture (or Temporozygomatic suture) is the cranial suture between the zygomatic bone and the temporal bone.

External links

  • SIG at UWash Temporozygomatic%20suture
  • Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier

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The Zygomaticofrontal suture (or Frontozygomatic suture) is the cranial suture between the zygomatic bone and the frontal bone.

Additional images



Left zygomatic bone in situ.

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The frontal suture is a dense connective tissue structure that divides the two halves of the frontal bone of the skull in infants and children. It usually disappears by the age of six, with the two halves of the frontal bone being fused together.
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