Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Foramen ovale
Introduction
There are multiple structures in the human body with the name foramen ovale (plural: foramina ovalia; Latin for “oval hole”):
- In the fetal heart, the foramen ovale (heart) is a shunt from the right to left atrium.
- At the base of the skull, the foramen ovale (skull) is in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone in the middle cranial fossa and transmits the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve, otic ganglion, accessory meningeal artery, lesser petrosal nerve and emissary veins.
Editor-In-Chief: Template:Search infobox C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]