Orbital floor fractures are the most common location for an orbital fracture because the which bone is the weakest in the orbit?

Orbital floor fractures are the most common location for an orbital fracture because the which bone is the weakest in the orbit?

• A. Ethmoid bone
• B. Lacrimal bone
• C. Maxillary bone
• D. Sphenoid bone

Answer: (C)

Blowout fractures occur most often through the orbital floor because that wall is the thinnest part of the orbital bones. The floor is formed mainly by the orbital plate of the maxilla, sitting above the maxillary sinus, and its thin, delicate structure makes it the weakest area when blunt force is applied to the eye. When pressure spikes inside the orbit, the floor yields and can fracture, allowing orbital contents to herniate into the sinus—a classic blowout fracture. This anatomical arrangement explains why fractures here are the most common. Additionally, the infraorbital nerve runs along this floor, so trauma can cause numbness in the cheek/upper lip and, if the inferior rectus is involved, diplopia with upward gaze.

Blowout fractures occur most often through the orbital floor because that wall is the thinnest part of the orbital bones. The floor is formed mainly by the orbital plate of the maxilla, sitting above the maxillary sinus, and its thin, delicate structure makes it the weakest area when blunt force is applied to the eye. When pressure spikes inside the orbit, the floor yields and can fracture, allowing orbital contents to herniate into the sinus—a classic blowout fracture. This anatomical arrangement explains why fractures here are the most common. Additionally, the infraorbital nerve runs along this floor, so trauma can cause numbness in the cheek/upper lip and, if the inferior rectus is involved, diplopia with upward gaze.