į ´Anything passes through the foramen lacerum
The foramen lacerum is an empty space surrounded by the body of the sphenoid, the greater wing of the sphenoid, the apex of petrous part, and the base of the occipital bone. It is closed in living body by fibrocartilage.
It serves as the internal opening of the internal carotid artery, through which the greater petrosal nerve (parasympathetic nerve from the facial nerve which innervates the lacrimal gland) and the dee petrosal nerve (sympathetic nerve which branches from the internal carotid plexus from the superior cervical ganglion) pass.