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 maxillary nerve, and parasympathetic fibers from the nerve of the pterygoid canal. It may be anaesthetised for procedures of the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on t ...

and maxillary (upper)

teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, te ...

Structure

The greater palatine nerve is a branch of the pterygopalatine ganglion. It descends through the greater palatine canal, moving anteriorly and inferiorly. Here, it is accompanied by the descending palatine artery. It emerges upon the hard palate through the greater palatine foramen. It then passes forward in a groove in the hard palate, nearly as far as the

incisor 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, w ...

teeth. While in the pterygopalatine canal, it gives off

lateral posterior inferior nasal branches Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction *Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle *Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral cons ...

, which enter the nasal cavity through openings in the palatine bone, and ramify over the inferior nasal concha and middle and inferior meatuses. At its exit from the canal, a palatine branch is distributed to both surfaces of the soft palate.

Function

The greater palatine nerve carries both general sensory fibres from the maxillary nerve, and parasympathetic fibers from the nerve of the pterygoid canal. It supplies the gums, the

mucous membrane A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...

and glands of the hard palate, and communicates in front with the terminal filaments of the nasopalatine nerve.

Clinical significance

The greater palatine nerve may be anaesthetised to perform dental procedures on the maxillary (upper)

, and sometimes for cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.

References

External links

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Diagram at adi-visuals.com
{{Authority control Trigeminal nerve