Nasopalatine nerve

Nerve: Nasopalatine nerve
Nerves of septum of nose. Right side (Nasopalatine is lower yellow line.)
The sphenopalatine ganglion and its branches. (Termination of nasopalatine nerve labeled at bottom left.)
Latin	nervus nasopalatinus
Gray's	subject #200 893
From	maxillary nerve, pterygopalatine ganglion
Dorlands/Elsevier	nasopalatine nerve

One branch of the posterior superior nasal branches (Trigeminal nerve, Maxillary branch), longer and larger than the others, is named the nasopalatine nerve (sometimes called the long sphenopalatine nerve).

It enters the nasal cavity through the sphenopalatine foramen, passes across the roof of the nasal cavity below the orifice of the sphenoidal sinus to reach the septum, and then runs obliquely downward and forward between the periosteum and mucous membrane of the lower part of the septum.

It descends to the roof of the mouth through the incisive canal and communicates with the corresponding nerve of the opposite side and with the greater palatine nerve.

It supplies the palatal structures around the upper central and lateral incisors and the canines (the upper front six teeth).

It also furnishes a few filaments to the mucous membrane of the nasal septum.

The medial superior posterior nasal branches of maxillary nerve usually branches from the nasopalatine nerve.

Additional images

• 

  Base of skull. Inferior surface.

See also

• Foramina of Scarpa

References

External links

• MedEd at Loyola GrossAnatomy/h_n/cn/cn1/cnb2.htm
• lesson9 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (nasalseptumner)
• Diagram 1 at adi-visuals.com
• Diagram 2 at adi-visuals.com

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.