Pterygoid canal

The pterygoid canal, also known as the vidian canal, is a narrow channel that links the middle cranial fossa to the pterygopalatine fossa. Starting in the anterior wall of the foramen lacerum, the canal extends forward, traversing the cartilage of the foramen lacerum. It proceeds through the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone and eventually opens into the back wall of the pterygopalatine fossa, just below the entrance of the foramen rotundum in the pterygopalatine fossa's posterior wall.

The canal carries several important structures: the nerve, artery, and vein of the pterygoid canal. The nerve of the pterygoid canal enters the pterygopalatine fossa and connects with the pterygopalatine ganglion. Within this nerve, autonomic fibers are transported, including preganglionic parasympathetic fibers that come from the greater petrosal nerve, a branch of the facial nerve, as well as postganglionic sympathetic fibers that are provided by the deep petrosal nerve, stemming from the internal carotid artery's carotid plexus.