Clivus (anatomy)

The clivus (/ˈklaɪvəs/, Latin for "slope") or Blumenbach clivus is a part of the occipital bone at the base of the skull. It is a shallow depression behind the dorsum sellae of the sphenoid bone. It slopes gradually to the anterior part of the basilar occipital bone at its junction with the sphenoid bone. It extends to the foramen magnum. It is related to the pons and the abducens nerve (CN VI).