Base of the skull. Upper surface. (Subarcuate fossa not labeled, but temporal bone is identified in pink, and "Eminentia arcuata" (i.e. arcuate eminence, corresponding to the superior semicircular canal) is labeled.)
The surface of the subarcuate fossa is lined with dura mater and lodges the endolymphatic sac and duct, as well as a minute artery and vein;[3]: 568 some veins from the mucosa of mastoid antrum enter the cranial cavity at the subarcuate fossa to drain at the superior petrosal sinus - they are remnants of larger subarcuate veins of childhood and represent a possible route of intracranial infectious spread.[3]: 749
Other animals
It is extensive in most primates (except for great apes) and nearly all mammals. In these animals, the subarcuate fossa houses a part of the cerebellum, the petrosal lobe.[4][5]
References
^ abSinnatamby, Chummy S. (2011). Last's Anatomy (12th ed.). Elsevier Australia. p. 451. ISBN978-0-7295-3752-0.
^Gannon PJ, Eden AR, Laitman JT (Oct 1988). "The subarcuate fossa and cerebellum of extant primates: comparative study of a skull-brain interface". Am J Phys Anthropol. 77 (2): 143–64. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330770202. PMID3207165.
^Jeffery N, Ryan TM, Spoor F (Aug 2008). "The primate subarcuate fossa and its relationship to the semicircular canals part II: adult interspecific variation". J Hum Evol. 55 (2): 326–39. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.02.010. PMID18395770.