- Palatine process of maxilla
Infobox Bone
Name = Palatine process of maxilla
Latin = processus palatinus ossis maxillae, processus palatinus maxillae
GraySubject = 38
GrayPage = 162
Caption = Thebony palate andalveolar arch . (Palatine process labeled at bottom left.)
Caption2 = Inferior surface ofmaxilla at birth.
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Precursor =
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DorlandsPre = p_34
DorlandsSuf = 12667562
The palatine process of themaxilla (palatal process), thick and strong, is horizontal and projects medialward from the nasal surface of the bone.It forms a considerable part of the floor of the nose and the roof of the mouth and is much thicker in front than behind.
Its "inferior surface" is concave, rough and uneven, and forms, with the palatine process of the opposite bone, the anterior three-fourths of the
hard palate .It is perforated by numerous foramina for the passage of the nutrient vessels; is channelled at the back part of its lateral border by a groove, sometimes a canal, for the transmission of the
descending palatine vessels and theanterior palatine nerve from thespheno-palatine ganglion ; and presents little depressions for the lodgement of thepalatine glands .When the two maxillae are articulated, a funnel-shaped opening, the
incisive foramen , is seen in the middle line, immediately behind theincisor teeth .In this opening the orifices of two lateral canals are visible; they are named the
incisive canals orforamina of Stenson ; through each of them passes the terminal branch of thedescending palatine artery and thenasopalatine nerve .Occasionally two additional canals are present in the middle line; they are termed the
foramina of Scarpa , and when present transmit thenasopalatine nerves , the left passing through the anterior, and the right through theposterior canal .On the under surface of the palatine process, a delicate linear suture, well seen in young skulls, may sometimes be noticed extending lateralward and forward on either side from the incisive foramen to the interval between the lateral incisor and the
canine tooth .The small part in front of this suture constitutes the premaxilla ("os incisivum"), which in most vertebrates forms an independent bone; it includes the whole thickness of the
alveolus , the corresponding part of the floor of the nose and the anterior nasal spine, and contains the sockets of the incisor teeth.The "upper surface" of the palatine process is concave from side to side, smooth, and forms the greater part of the floor of the nasal cavity. It presents, close to its medial margin, the upper orifice of the incisive canal.
The "lateral border" of the process is incorporated with the rest of the bone.
The "medial border" is thicker in front than behind, and is raised above into a ridge, the
nasal crest , which, with the corresponding ridge of the opposite bone, forms a groove for the reception of thevomer . The front part of this ridge rises to a considerable height, and is named theincisor crest ; it is prolonged forward into a sharp process, which forms, together with a similar process of the opposite bone, theanterior nasal spine .The "posterior border" is serrated for articulation with the horizontal part of the
palatine bone .
=AdditionalExternal links
* - "Osteology of the Skull: The Maxilla"
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* - "Nasal septum, lateral view"
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