jugular foramen [L, jugulum, neck, foramen, hole] , one of a pair of openings between the lateral part of the occipital bone and the petrous part of the temporal bones in the skull. The foramen contains the inferior petrosal sinus; the transverse sinus; some meningeal branches of the occipital and ascending pharyngeal arteries; and the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves.
