Condyloid fossa

{{Short description|Depression in the occipital bone}}

{{Infobox bone

| Name = Condyloid fossa

| Latin = fossa condylaris

| Image = Gray129.png

| Caption = Occipital bone. Outer surface. (Condyloid fossa visible but not labeled.)

| Image2 = Condyloid fossa10.png

| Caption2 = Skull and cervical vertebra. Position of condyloid fossa shown in red.

}}

Behind either condyle of the lateral parts of occipital bone is a depression, the condyloid fossa (or condylar fossa), which receives the posterior margin of the superior facet of the atlas when the head is bent backward; the floor of this fossa is sometimes perforated by the condyloid canal, through which an emissary vein passes from the transverse sinus.