Trigeminal cave

Trigeminal cave, also known as Meckel’s cave or the trigeminal impression, is a depression on the front surface of the apex of the petrous temporal bone. It faces the middle cranial fossa and contains the trigeminal (or semilunar) ganglion.

The trigeminal cave is filled by a bulge or recess of the inner dura mater layer of the tentorium cerebelli, and the trigeminal ganglion rests on it. The anterior half of ganglion is located outside the trigeminal cave and gives rise to the divisions of the trigeminal nerve: V1, V2, and V3. The posterior half of the ganglion is inside the trigeminal cave or and is surrounded by the subarachnoid space filled with cerebrospinal fluid.

Important nearby anatomical structures include the carotid canal, located below and to the side (inferolateral), the superior petrosal sinus, which passes over it from above, and the cavernous sinus.