Palatal Arch Anterior

Anterior palatal arch

The anterior palatine (palatinus superior) is a small outgrowth of the hard palate (palatal plate) on the lower surface of the alveolar process of the upper jaw. Located in front of the anterior end of the greater palatine process and above the external auditory canal. It is adjacent on the internal sides to the anterior surface of the upper temporal and lower jaw bones, and externally to the buccal muscle and the lateral wall of the nasal cavity. Visible when gaping the mouth and chewing, determines the direction of the upper end of the anterior palatoglossal suture, contains openings for the passage of the maxillary and frontal vessels and nerve.

The anterior arch of the palate is covered with the mucous membrane of the cheek with narrow ridges protruding from it inward, in the thickness of which there are buccal muscles and fatty lumps in combination with salivary glands and ducts. It has the thinnest and most acidic shell. There are small depressions on it, their combination forms the superficial palatal suture. The buccal mucosa, separated from the palatine notch of the buccal-pharyngeal fascia, forms the buccal mucosa. The cheek passes with its soft tissues to the lower jaw through the buccal muscle. Entering the thickness of the cheek, it more or less diverges, changing the inclination of the entire cheek; the muscle is less pronounced in men. The lower jaw continuously grows and develops: in children, the dimensions of vertical growth predominate, mainly in the downward-forward direction, then the downward-backward direction dominates.