Tags: Anatomical Structure, Bone.
The clivus (Latin for slope) is a part of the cranium a shallow depression behind the dorsum sellæ that slopes obliquely backward. It forms a gradual sloping process at the anterior most portion of the basilar occipital bone at its junction with the sphenoid bone. On axial planes it sits just posterior to the sphenoid sinuses. Just lateral to the clivus bilaterally is the foramen lacerum which contains the internal carotid artery proximal to its anastamosis with the Circle of Willis.
