Unit 2/3 Pronunciation Focus

Bones of the Orbit

1. Bones 7. Foramina 13. Palatine

2. Socket 8. Fissure 14. Border
3. Appendage 9. Groove 15. Apex
4. Retrobulbar 10. Canal 16. Pathways
5. Fascia 11. Ethmoid 17. Tears
6. Nasolacrimal 12. Zygomatic 18. Exophthalmic

Vocabulary focus

1. Socket – orbită, cavitate;

~ a bony hollow into which a part or structure fits.
2. Appendage - anexă;
~ an appendage is something that is joined to or connected with something larger or more important.
3. Foramina (pl.) – gaură, deschizătură;
~ a small opening or perforation, esp. in a bone; a natural hole, esp one in a bone through which nerves and blood vessels pass. Foramen (sg.)
4. Border – hotar, limită, margine;
(Syn). line, limit, edge, margin, rim
~ margin around or along the edge of something; the dividing line;

5. Trochlear – trohlear (nerv);

~ functioning like a pulley; pulleylike; a pulley-shaped part or structure; used in anatomic nomenclature to designate a bony or fibrous structure through which a tendon passes or with which
other structures articulate.

Pulley-roată de transmisie
6. Abducens – abductor
~ the sixth cranial nerve; it arises from the pons and supplies the lateral rectus muscle of the eyeball, allowing for motion. Paralysis of the nerve causes diplopia (double
vision)

7. Protrude - proeminenţă
(Syn.) stick out, project, prominent, swollen, exophthalmic.
~ To project; to extend beyond a border or limit.

8. Glioma
~ a tumour of the brain and spinal cord

9. Sarcoid
~ a tumour resembling a sarcoma

10. Graves desease

~ Graves' disease is an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism). Although Graves' disease may affect anyone, it's
more common among women and before the age of 40.

11. Fascia - ţesut conectiv

~ a thin layer of connective tissue covering, supporting, or connecting the muscles or inner organs of the body. Fasciae (pl.)
Unit 2/3 Compulsory Text
Bones of the Orbit

Reading & Speaking

In anatomy, the orbit (or eye sockets) is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its
appendages are situated. The orbit can be thought of as a pyramidal structure. In the adult human, the
volume of the orbit is 30 milli litres.
The orbital contents comprise the eye, the orbital fascia, extraocular muscles, cranial nerves II, III, IV,
V, and VI, blood vessels, fat, the lacrimal gland with its sac and nasolacrimal duct, the eyelids, septum,
ciliary ganglion and short ciliary nerves.
The orbits are conical or four-sided pyramidal cavities, which open into the midline of the face. Each
consists of a base, an apex and four walls.
There are two important foramina (or windows), two important fissures (or grooves), and one canal
surrounding the globe in the orbit. There is a supraorbital foramen, an infraorbital foramen, a superior
orbital fissure, an inferior orbital fissure and the optic canal, each of which contains structures that are
crucial to normal eye functioning.

Bony walls
There are seven skull bones that form the
orbit:

Yellow = Frontal bone

Green = Lacrimal bone
Brown = Ethmoid bone
Light blue = Zygomatic bone
Violet = Maxillary bone
Aqua (v. small) = Palatine bone
Dark red – Sphenoid bone

The bony walls of the orbital canal in humans

do not derive from a single bone, but a mosaic
of seven embryologically distinct structures:
the zygomatic bone, the sphenoid bone, the
maxillary bone which, along with the lacrimal
and ethmoid bones, forms the wall of the
orbital canal. The ethmoid air cells are
extremely thin, and form a structure known as the lamina papyracea, the most delicate bony structure
in the skull, and one of the most commonly fractured bones in orbital trauma. The lacrimal bone also
contains the nasolacrimal duct. The lacrimal bone is the most fragile bone of the face.

Function
The orbit holds and protects the eye.
It is also important to consider the anatomical relations of the orbital cavity – this is clinically relevant
in the spread of infection, and in cases of trauma.

The borders and anatomical relations of the bony orbit are as follows:

 Roof (superior wall / superior margin): formed by the frontal and sphenoid bones
 Floor (inferior wall / inferior margin): formed by the maxilla, palatine and zygomatic bones
 Medial wall (medial margin): formed by ethmoid, sphenoid, maxilla and lacrimal bones
 Lateral wall (lateral margin): formed by zygomatic and sphenoid

 Apex – Located at the opening to the optic canal.

 Base – Opens out into the face, and is bounded by the eyelids. It is also known as the orbital rim.

Pathways into the Orbit

There are three main pathways by which structures can enter and leave the orbit:

 The optic canal transmits the optic nerve and ophthalmic artery.
 The superior orbital fissure transmits the lacrimal, frontal, trochlear (CN IV), oculomotor (CN
III), nasociliary and abducens (CN VI) nerves.
It also carries the superior ophthalmic vein.
 The inferior orbital fissure transmits the maxillary
nerve (a branch of CN V), the inferior ophthalmic
vein, and sympathetic nerves.

There are other minor openings into the orbital cavity.

The nasolacrimal canal, which drains tears from the
eye to the nasal cavity.
Other small openings include the supraorbital
foramen and infraorbital canal – they carry small
neurovascular structures.

Clinical significance

In the orbit, the surrounding fascia allows for smooth rotation and protects the orbital contents. If
excessive tissue accumulates behind the ocular globe, the eye can protrude, or become exophthalmic.
Enlargement of the lacrimal gland, produces protrusion of the eye inferiorly and medially (away from
the location of the lacrimal gland). Lacrimal gland may be enlarged from inflammation (e.g. sarcoid) or
neoplasm (e.g. lymphoma or adenoid cystic carcinoma).
Tumors (e.g. glioma and meningioma of the optic nerve) producing axial protrusion (bulging forward)
of the eye.
Graves disease may also cause axial protrusion of the eye, known as Graves' ophthalmopathy, due to
buildup of extracellular matrix proteins.
Appendix 1
Appendix 2 Orbital contents
The eye Orbital fascia

Extraocular muscles
Cranial nerves

Orbital Blood vessels Orbital Fat

 The lacrimal gland with its sac, Orbital septum
the nasolacrimal duct

Ciliary ganglion, short ciliary nerves

 Post Reading Activities

1. Identify another Synonym according to the given one in bold from Unit 2/3 and place it within the circle
Synonym focus

space socket

1. bodily cavity
1cavum chamber

opening windows

2. gap
2hiatus

4hilum groove

3. 3sulcus

depression crevice

4. edge rim

verge

margin

stick out protrusion

5.

pop out bulge

growth carcinoma

6.

meningioma glioma

1Cavum - a natural hollow or sinus within the body

2
Hiatus - a natural opening or perforation through a bone or a membranous structure
3
Sulcus - any of the narrow grooves in an organ or tissue especially those that mark the convolutions on the surface of the brain
4 Hilum - a depression or fissure where vessels or nerves or ducts enter a bodily organ
 2. Find answers to the following questions

1. What do Orbital Contents comprise?

2. The orbits are conical cavities. What does each consist of?
3. How many skull bones are there?
4. What is the function of the orbit?
5. How is the most delicate bony skull structure called?
6. What does enlargement of the lacrimal gland produce?
7. How many important pathways there exist? / by which structures can enter and leave the orbit.

3. Matching

vessels globe duct back

muscles structures papyracea gland
ganglion nerves canal nerves
forward disease foramen fascia
contents

1. Orbital _____________________________
2. Retrobulbar _________________________
3. Cranial _____________________________
4. Lacrimal ___________________________
5. Point ______________________________
6. Supraorbital ________________________
7. Blood _____________________________
8. Extraocular ________________________
9. Ciliary ____________________________
10. Bulging __________________________
11. Ocular ___________________________
12. Neurovascular _____________________
13. Sympathetic _______________________
14. Graves ___________________________
15. Nasolacrimal ______________________
16. Lamina __________________________
17. Optic __________________________