Lacrimal bone

The lacrimal bone ( lacrimal ) is one of the bones of the skull and part of the facial skeleton. It is a paired, thin bone plate which forms part of the orbit and the lateral nasal cavity wall.

The lacrimal bone forms ( in humans, together with the maxilla), the lacrimal sac fossa ( fossa sacci lacrimal, also referred to as " hopper tears " ), in which the lacrimal sac is located. It also forms part of the nasolacrimal duct ( lacrimal canal ) in which the membranous nasolacrimal passage ( nasolacrimal duct ) lies. The entrance to the lacrimal canal is the foramen lacrimale. In ruminants, the lacrimal bone is ventrocaudal blistered distended to lacrimal bulla.

In artiodactyls, the lacrimal bone is pneumatized. This sinus is called the lacrimal sinus (sinus lacrimal ). In horses, the very large maxillary sinus extends well into the lacrimal bone.

The length of the lacrimal bone is used in some species for the identification of subtypes. This is for example the case in wild boar.

Literature and sources

• Franz- Viktor Salomon: Boney skeleton. In: Franz- Viktor Salomon and others ( ed.): Anatomy for veterinary medicine. Enke Verlag, Stuttgart, 2nd adv. Edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-8304-1075-1, pp. 37-110.

FACIAL REGION: palatine bone | ossicles | Zygomatic | nose | maxilla | vomer | prefrontal | lacrimal bone | mandible | hyoid | Zwischenkieferbein

Skull: occipital bone | sphenoid | parietal | ethmoid | prefrontal