Temporal bone: structure and possible pathologies

Before talking about the pathologies of the temporal bone, it is necessary to clarify that the temporal bone is a pair, and makes up the base and the side wall of the skull, prevailing between the sphenoid bone in front and the occipital posterior. It contains the organs of hearing and balance, hence one can judge its direct purpose and indispensability in the human body. As its constituents are rocky, drum and scaly parts, we will describe in detail each.

The rocky part has a triangular shape, hence the name "pyramid". The tip of the pyramid is directed medially and forward, in addition, it has an internal opening of the carotid canal, and its base is directed backwards and laterally, where the muscular tube channel is located, divided by a septum into two half-channels, which activate the eardrum.

The scaly part forms the lateral walls of the skull and is represented by a vertically standing plate with a rounded edge that hangs over the characteristic edge of the parietal bone in the form of fish scales, therefore the name is corresponding.

The drum part forms part of the posterior as well as the anterior and lower edges of the external auditory canal, characterized by endosmal ossification and has the appearance of a similar rounded plate.

The temporal bone is an important element of the skull structure, the pathologies of which lead to extremely undesirable consequences. In particular, temporal arteritis can become more acute. It is an inflammatory disease that affects large blood vessels. Most often this occurs with vessels touching the carotid arteries, in particular, the cranial arteries, the aorta and the large branches of the coronary arteries and arteries of the extremities that branch off from it. Veins with this pathology are very rarely affected. Such a pathology can cause a sharp loss of vision, in addition, a prolonged course of the disease can lead to the necrosis of the optic nerve and retina.

With this pathological process, the temporal bone requires timely diagnosis, which is performed against the background of the patient's characteristic complaints. So, a potential patient experiences severe headaches, a visual impairment, tenderness of the temporal arteries, pain in the neck and a significant deterioration in the habitual condition. Do not delay with treatment, because the temporal bone is directly related to vision, and temporal arteritis can lead to irreversible blindness. Here a number of medications are recommended, the action of which is aimed at suppressing the inflammatory process in the arteries. It is important to understand that in each clinical case, productive treatment has its own specific characteristics, therefore one feels significant improvement at an early stage of intensive therapy, but others need a long course of rehabilitation therapy.

However, this is not the only disease that has to do with the temporal bone. Also, temporal tendonitis may progress. Such a disease is characterized by a strong pain syndrome in the cheek area, which can sometimes seem to hurt your teeth. Such pain most often accrues during chewing, however, the course of this pathology is purely individual.

The task of a specialist to prescribe an alternative treatment, which normalizes blood circulation and metabolism, the prerequisites for the deposition of calcium salts will disappear, and pain will subside. In addition, there is an urgent need to restore connective tissue.

Hence it is possible to talk about the role of the temporal bone in the structure of the skull, which has its weighty significance and performs very important functions.