The nasopalatine nerve (long sphenopalatine nerve) is a

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

of the head. It is a branch of the

pterygopalatine ganglion The pterygopalatine ganglion (aka Meckel's ganglion, nasal ganglion, or sphenopalatine ganglion) is a parasympathetic ganglion found in the pterygopalatine fossa. It is largely innervated by the greater petrosal nerve (a branch of the facial ne ...

, a continuation from the

maxillary nerve In neuroanatomy, the maxillary nerve (V) is one of the three branches or divisions of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth (CN V) cranial nerve. It comprises the principal functions of sensation from the maxilla, nasal cavity, sinuses, the palate a ...

(V₂). It supplies parts of the

palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly sepa ...

and

nasal septum The nasal septum () separates the left and right airways of the Human nose, nasal cavity, dividing the two nostrils. It is Depression (kinesiology), depressed by the depressor septi nasi muscle. Structure The fleshy external end of the nasal ...

Structure

The nasopalatine nerve communicates with the corresponding nerve of the opposite side and with the

greater palatine nerve The greater palatine nerve is a branch of the pterygopalatine ganglion. This nerve is also referred to as the anterior palatine nerve, due to its location anterior to the lesser palatine nerve. It carries both general sensory fibres from the maxi ...

. The medial superior posterior nasal branches of the

usually branch from the nasopalatine nerve.

Origin

The nasopalatine nerve is a branch of the

, a continuation from the

(V₂), itself a branch of the

trigeminal nerve In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewin ...

. It enters the

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nasal c ...

through the

sphenopalatine foramen The sphenopalatine foramen is a foramen in the skull that connects the nasal cavity with the pterygopalatine fossa. Structure The processes of the superior border of the palatine bone are separated by the ''sphenopalatine notch'', which is convert ...

Course

It passes across the roof of the

below the orifice of the

sphenoidal sinus The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus occurring within the within the body of the sphenoid bone. It represents one pair of the four paired paranasal sinuses.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012, ...

to reach the

. It then runs obliquely downward and forward between the

periosteum The periosteum is a membrane that covers the outer surface of all bones, except at the articular surfaces (i.e. the parts within a joint space) of long bones. Endosteum lines the inner surface of the medullary cavity of all long bones. Structure ...

and mucous membrane of the lower part of the nasal septum. It descends to the roof of the mouth through the

incisive canal The incisive canals (also: "''nasopalatine canals''") are two bony canals of the anterior hard palate connecting the nasal cavity and the oral cavity. An incisive canal courses through each maxilla. Below, the two incisive canals typically converg ...

to the

hard palate The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate made up of two bones of the facial skeleton, located in the roof of the mouth. The bones are the palatine process of the maxilla and the horizontal plate of palatine bone. The hard palate spans ...

Function

The nasopalatine nerve supplies the anterior-most portion of the

(the mucous membrane of the palate just posterior to the upper

incisors Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wh ...

), as well as the posteroinferior portion of the

Clinical significance

The nasopalatine nerve may be anaesthetised in order to performs

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

on the

or the

soft palate The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is the hard palate. ...

History

The nasopalatine nerve was first identified by

Domenico Cotugno Domenico Felice Antonio Cotugno (January 29, 1736 – October 6, 1822) was an Italian physician. Biography Born at Ruvo di Puglia (Province of Bari, Apulia) into a family of humble means, Cotugno underwent physical and economic hardships to get ...

Structure

Origin

Course

Function

Clinical significance

History

Additional images

See also

References

External links