The asterion is the point on the skull corresponding to the posterior end of the parietomastoid suture.

Location

In human anatomy

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

, the asterion is a visible, so-called craniometric, point on the exposed skull

Human skull

The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...

, just behind the ear

Ear

The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....

, where three cranial sutures

Cranial sutures

*Surgical suture, to describe stitches and other techniques for holding tissues together.* Geology, to describe a certain type of boundary between layers of rock....

 meet:

• the lambdoid,
• parieto-mastoid, and
• occipito-mastoid sutures,

or where three cranial bones meet:

• Parietal bone
  Parietal bone
  The parietal bones are bones in the human skull which, when joined together, form the sides and roof of the cranium. Each bone is roughly quadrilateral in form, and has two surfaces, four borders, and four angles. It is named from the Latin pariet-, wall....
  
  ,
• Occipital bone
  Occipital bone
  The occipital bone, a saucer-shaped membrane bone situated at the back and lower part of the cranium, is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself...
  
  ,
• and Mastoid portion of the Temporal bone
  Temporal bone
  The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebrum.The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple.-Parts:The temporal bone consists of four parts:* Squama temporalis...
  
  .

In the adult, it lies 4 cm behind and 12 mm above the center of the entrance to the ear canal

Ear canal

The ear canal , is a tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The human ear canal extends from the pinna to the eardrum and is about 35 mm in length and 5 to 10 mm in diameter....

.

Clinical significance

Neurosurgeons use this point to orientate themselves, in order to plan safe entry into the skull for some operations.

Some surgeons call it the "Mercedes point", for its resemblance to the Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

 logo.

Etymology

The asterion receives its name from Ancient Greek ἀστήρ ("aster"), meaning "star".

In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Asterion

Asterion

In Greek mythology, Asterion denotes two sacred kings of Crete. The first Asterion or Asterius , the son of Tectamus or son of Neleus and Chloris by the Greeks called "king" of Crete, was the consort of Europa and stepfather of her sons by Zeus, who had to assume the form of the Cretan bull of...

was one of the three river-gods. Poseidon, in a feud with them, made the rivers of these three gods run dry.