Descending palatine artery

Artery: Descending palatine artery
Plan of branches of internal maxillary artery. ("Desc. pal." visible in upper right.)
Plan of branches of internal maxillary artery. (Artery not labeled, but region is visible.)
Latin	arteria palatina descendens
Gray's	subject #144 562
Supplies	hard palate, soft palate
Source	maxillary artery (3rd part)
Branches	greater palatine artery, lesser palatine arteries

The descending palatine artery is an artery of the head.

Course

It descends through the pterygopalatine canal with the anterior palatine branch of the sphenopalatine ganglion, and, emerging from the greater palatine foramen, runs forward in a groove on the medial side of the alveolar border of the hard palate to the incisive canal; the terminal branch of the artery passes upward through this canal to anastomose with the sphenopalatine artery.

Branches

Branches are distributed to the gums, the palatine glands, and the mucous membrane of the roof of the mouth; while in the pterygopalatine canal it gives off twigs which descend in the lesser palatine canals to supply the soft palate and palatine tonsil, anastomosing with the ascending palatine artery.

According to Terminologia Anatomica, the descending palatine artery branches into the greater palatine artery and lesser palatine arteries.

See also

• Ascending palatine artery

Additional images

• 

  Base of skull. Inferior surface.

References

External links

• Descending+palatine+artery at eMedicine Dictionary
• lesson4 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (infratempfossaart)
• lesson9 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (nasalseptumart)

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 As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.