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 lateral 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 components are rocky, drum and scaly parts, we will describe each in more detail.

The rocky part has a triangular shape, henceand got its second name "pyramid". The apex 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 duct is located, divided by a septum into two half-channels, which activate the eardrum.

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

The drum part forms part of the posterior as well as the anterior and lower margins 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 constructionThe skull, whose pathology leads to extremely undesirable consequences. In particular, temporal arteritis can become worse. 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 branching off from it. Veins are very rarely affected in this pathology. 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 such a pathological process, the temporal bonerequires timely diagnosis, which is carried out 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 thathas to do with the temporal bone. Also, temporal tendonitis may progress. Such a disease is characterized by a strong pain syndrome in the cheek region, which can sometimes seem to hurt your teeth. Such pain most often accrues with chewing, however, the course of this pathology is purely individual.

The task of a specialist is to designate an alternativetreatment, 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.

From here one can also talk about the role of the temporal bone in the structure of the skull, which has its weighty significance and performs very important functions.