The Auditory Tube

• This is a funnel-shaped tube connecting the nasopharynx to the tympanic cavity.

• Its wide end is towards the nasopharynx, where it opens posterior to the inferior meatus of the nasal cavity.
• The auditory tube is 3.5 to 4 cm long; its posterior 1/3 is bony and the other 2/3 is cartilaginous.
• It bony part lies in a groove on the inferior aspect of the base of the skull, between the petrous part of the temporal bone and the greater wing of the sphenoid bone.

• The function of the auditory tube is to equalise pressure of the middle ear with atmospheric pressure.

The Paranasal Sinuses

• These sinuses are air-filled extensions of the respiratory part of the nasal cavity.
• They are in the following bones, frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid and the maxilla.

The Frontal Sinuses

• These are located between the outer and inner tables of the frontal bone, posterior to the superciliary arches.

The Ethmoidal Sinuses

• These comprise of several small cavities, called ethmoidal air cells, within the ethmoidal labyrinth (G. labyrinthos, a maze) of the lateral mass of the ethmoid bone.

The Sphenoidal Sinuses

• These occupy a variable amount in the body of the sphenoid bone and may extend into the wings.

The Maxillary Sinuses

• These are the largest pair of paranasal sinuses.
• They are pyramidal-shaped cavities that may occupy the entire bodies of the maxillae.

• Bones begin to form during the eighth week of embryomic life in the fibrous membranes (intramembranous ossification) and hyaline cartilage (endochondral ossification)

Ligaments of the Joint

• The fibrous capsule is thickened laterally to form the lateral (temporomandibular) ligament. It reinforces the lateral part of this capsule.
• The base of this triangular ligament is attached to the zygomatic process of the temporal bone and the articular tubercle.
• Its apex is fixed to the lateral side of the neck of the mandible.

• Two other ligaments connect the mandible to the cranium but neither provides much strength.

• The stylomandibular ligament is a thickened band of deep cervical fascia.
• It runs from the styloid process of the temporal bone to the angle of the mandible and separates the parotid and submandibular salivary glands.

• The sphenomandibular ligament is a long membranous band that lies medial to the joint.
• This ligament runs from the spine of the sphenoid bone to the lingula on the medial aspect of the mandible.