Axial CT of the upper neck with IV contrast

1. A Right lateral pterygoid plate.

2. B Right mandibular condyle.

3. C Left internal carotid artery.

4. D Left styloid process.

5. E Left vertebral artery.

The lateral and medial pterygoid plates are part of the sphenoid bone and descend perpendicularly from the region where the body and the greater wings unite. All categories of Le Fort fracture involve the pterygoid plates. The internal carotid artery arises at the level of C3 (where the common carotid artery bifurcates) and enters the base of the skull through the carotid canal. The styloid process is a pointed thin piece of bone that extends from the inferior surface of the temporal bone and serves as an important attachment to several ligaments and muscles of the larynx and tongue. The vertebral arteries are paired arteries that usually arise from the subclavian arteries and course through the foramen transversarium from C6 to C1. This image demonstrates the path of the vertebral arteries as they enter the foramen magnum, where they unite to form the basilar artery.

Lateral X-ray of the skull

1. A Posterior clinoid process.

2. B Sella turcica (pituitary fossa).

3. C Sphenoid sinus.

4. D Frontal sinus.

5. E Hard palate.

The sella turcica is a depression within the sphenoid bone that houses the pituitary gland. The anterior border is formed by two small bony eminences called the anterior clinoid processes.