The greater palatine artery is a branch of the descending palatine artery (a terminal branch 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 ...

) and contributes to the blood supply 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 ...

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 ...

Course

The

descending palatine artery The descending palatine artery is a branch of the third part of the maxillary artery supplying the hard and soft palate. Course It descends through the greater palatine canal with the greater and lesser palatine branches of the pterygopalatine gan ...

branches off of the

in the

pterygopalatine fossa In human anatomy, the pterygopalatine fossa (sphenopalatine fossa) is a fossa in the skull. A human skull contains two pterygopalatine fossae—one on the left side, and another on the right side. Each fossa is a cone-shaped paired depression deep ...

and 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 gre ...

along 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 ...

(from 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 ...

). Once 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 g ...

, it changes names to the greater palatine artery and begins to supply the

. As it terminates it travels 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 ...

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 normal ...

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 cavi ...

to supply the

References

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* * () Arteries of the head and neck {{circulatory-stub

Course

See also

References

External links