Skip to practical collection
MEDIVEERSETHE PRACTICAL HUB
Back to AnatomyMBBS + BDS / Head & Neck · 5 / 171
ANATOMY / REFERENCE GALLERY1 / 2 references
Sphenoid bone: labelled teaching diagram. Original labels and colours retained.
100%
1
Body

Locate body on this anatomical reference. Read the original plate labels to confirm the view and adjacent structures.

Zoom in, then drag to inspect. Keyboard: + / − to zoom, arrows to pan, 0 to reset. Tap the numbered markers to explore parts.

Sphenoid bone: labelled teaching diagram. Original labels and colours retained.

Image: OpenStax College / university open textbook · Source / original · CC BY 4.0

Numbered markers and focused views are Mediveerse learning overlays; the original reference is linked above.

Sphenoid bone

Skull bones

Sphenoid bone

STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

Understand what you see.

Contributes to the cranial floor, orbit and passages for nerves and vessels.

Zoom into the original labels. Practise pointing out each structure, then explain it aloud. Diagrams are teaching references; specimen appearance and slide staining vary.

01 / IDENTIFICATION

How to recognise it.

  1. A central butterfly-shaped bone at the skull base
  2. Greater and lesser wings project laterally
  3. Sella turcica lies on the superior body
02 / KEY STRUCTURES

Point them out.

Tap a number to open its reference, zoom in and locate the structure. Numbers stay the same across views. This key follows landmarks visible in the reference images.

Related features & study points (2)

Additional relations, attachments or microscopic details to revise alongside this plate. These are separate from its numbered image landmarks.

  • Greater wings
  • Lesser wings
03 / VIVA PRACTICE

Think first. Then reveal.

Say your answer aloud before opening the suggested response.

Examiner-style prompts: identify the structure, explain its relations, then answer the applied follow-up. These are revision questions, not authenticated past papers.

01How would you identify sphenoid bone?
SUGGESTED ANSWER

A central butterfly-shaped bone at the skull base. Greater and lesser wings project laterally. Sella turcica lies on the superior body.

02What lies in the hypophyseal fossa?
SUGGESTED ANSWER

The pituitary gland lies in the hypophyseal fossa of the sella turcica.

03Match rotundum, ovale and spinosum to their principal contents.
SUGGESTED ANSWER

V2 through rotundum, V3 through ovale, and middle meningeal vessels with meningeal branch of V3 through spinosum.

04What separates greater and lesser wings at the orbital apex?
SUGGESTED ANSWER

Superior orbital fissure.

05Which tendon hooks around the pterygoid hamulus?
SUGGESTED ANSWER

Tensor veli palatini.

Read the references.

Credited anatomical plates, microscopy and university teaching references. Individual image credits appear below the viewer. Historical plates can use older terminology; use the lesson text for current names.