The descending palatine artery is a branch of the third part of the

maxillary artery The maxillary artery supplies deep structures of the face. It branches from the external carotid artery just deep to the neck of the mandible. Structure The maxillary artery, the larger of the two terminal branches of the external carotid artery, ...

supplying the hard and soft palate.

Course

It descends through the

greater palatine canal The greater palatine canal (or pterygopalatine canal) is a passage in the skull that transmits the descending palatine artery, vein, and greater and lesser palatine nerves between the pterygopalatine fossa and the oral cavity. Structure The ...

with the greater and lesser palatine branches 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 n ...

, and, emerging from the

greater palatine foramen At either posterior angle of the hard palate is the greater palatine foramen, for the transmission of the descending palatine vessels and greater palatine nerve; and running anteriorly (forward) and medially (towards the center-line) from it is a ...

, runs forward in a groove on the medial side of the alveolar border of 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 th ...

to 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 ...

; the terminal branch of the artery passes upward through this canal to

anastomose An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be norm ...

with the

sphenopalatine artery The sphenopalatine artery (nasopalatine artery) is an artery of the head, commonly known as the artery of epistaxis. Course The sphenopalatine artery is a branch of the maxillary artery which passes through the sphenopalatine foramen into the cav ...

Branches

Branches are distributed to the

gums The gums or gingiva (plural: ''gingivae'') consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health. Structure The gums are part of the soft tissue l ...

, the

palatine glands The palatine glands form a continuous layer on the posterior surface of the mucous membrane of the soft palate and around the uvula The palatine uvula, usually referred to as simply the uvula, is a conic projection from the back edge of the midd ...

, and the mucous membrane of the

roof of the mouth 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 ...

; while in the pterygopalatine canal it gives off twigs which descend in the

lesser palatine canals The lesser palatine canals (also accessory palatine canals) are passages in the palatine bone that carry the lesser and middle palatine nerves and vessels. Structure The lesser palatine canals start from the greater palatine canal, and run with th ...

to supply 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. ...

and

palatine tonsil Palatine tonsils, commonly called the tonsils and occasionally called the faucial tonsils, are tonsils located on the left and right sides at the back of the throat, which can often be seen as flesh-colored, pinkish lumps. Tonsils only present a ...

, anastomosing with the

ascending palatine artery The ascending palatine artery is an artery in the head that branches off the facial artery and runs up the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. Structure The ascending palatine artery arises close to the origin of the facial artery and passes u ...

. According to

Terminologia Anatomica ''Terminologia Anatomica'' is the international standard for human anatomical terminology. It is developed by the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminology, a program of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomis ...

, the descending palatine artery branches into the

greater palatine artery The greater palatine artery is a branch of the descending palatine artery (a terminal branch of the maxillary artery) and contributes to the blood supply of the hard palate and nasal septum. Course The descending palatine artery branches off of ...

and

lesser palatine arteries The lesser palatine arteries are arteries of the head. It is a branch of the descending palatine artery. They supply the palatine tonsils and the soft palate. Structure The lesser palatine arteries are branches of the descending palatine ar ...

Course

Branches

See also

Additional images

References

External links