Pterion

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Meeting point between the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones of the skull

title: "Pterion" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["skull", "otorhinolaryngology"] description: "Meeting point between the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones of the skull" topic_path: "general/skull" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterion" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Meeting point between the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones of the skull ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox anatomy"]

Field	Value
Name	Pterion
Latin	pterion
Image	Pterion.PNG
Caption	Side view of head, showing surface relations of bones (Pterion labeled at center)
Image2	Gray188-Sphenoparietal suture.png
Caption2	Side view of the skull with arrow pointing to the Pterion
::

| Name = Pterion | Latin = pterion | Image = Pterion.PNG | Caption = Side view of head, showing surface relations of bones (Pterion labeled at center) | Image2 = Gray188-Sphenoparietal suture.png | Caption2 = Side view of the skull with arrow pointing to the Pterion | System = | Precursor = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Sphenoparietal_suture.png" caption="[[Sphenoparietal suture]] highlighted in red"] ::

The pterion is the region where the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones join. It is located on the side of the skull, just behind the temple. It is also considered to be the weakest part of the skull, which makes it clinically significant, as if there is a fracture around the pterion it could be accompanied by an epidural hematoma.

Structure

The pterion is located in the temporal fossa, approximately 2.6 cm behind and 1.3 cm above the posterolateral margin of the frontozygomatic suture.

It is the junction between four bones:

These bones are typically joined by five cranial sutures:

the sphenoparietal suture joins the sphenoid and parietal bones.
the coronal suture joins the frontal bone to the sphenoid and parietal bones.
the squamous suture joins the temporal bone to the sphenoid and parietal bones.
the sphenofrontal suture joins the sphenoid and frontal bones.
the sphenosquamosal suture joins the sphenoid and temporal bones.

Clinical significance

Hematoma

The pterion is known as the weakest part of the skull. The anterior division of the middle meningeal artery runs underneath the pterion. Consequently, a traumatic blow to the pterion may rupture the middle meningeal artery causing an epidural haematoma. The pterion may also be fractured indirectly by blows to the top or back of the head that place sufficient force on the skull to fracture the pterion.

Surgery

The pterion is a structural landmark for neurosurgical approach to middle cerebral artery aneurysms.

Etymology

The pterion receives its name from the Ancient Greek root πτερόν pteron, meaning 'wing'. In Greek mythology, Hermes, messenger of the gods, was enabled to fly by winged sandals, and wings on his head, which were attached at the pterion.

References

R.M. McMinn.Last's anatomy regional and applied, 9th edition. Edinburgh (UK): Churchill Livingstone; 1994. Page 645
Siyan, MA. (April 2012). "Reappraising the surface anatomy of the pterion and its relationship to the middle meningeal artery". Clinical Anatomy.
(2004). "Questions for the MRCS Vivas".
Weston, Gabriel. (22 August 2011). "Mapping the Body: The Temple". The Guardian.
(2003-04-01). "Morphological variability of pterion in the human skull". Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology = Archivio Italiano di Anatomia ed Embriologia.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::