CorpusHuman Anatomy
DigestiveOrgan part

Hard palate

Palatum durum

The hard palate is the bony anterior two-thirds of the roof of the mouth. It separates the oral and nasal cavities and gives the tongue a rigid surface to press food against.

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Overview

The hard palate is formed by the palatine processes of the maxillae in front and the horizontal plates of the palatine bones behind. Thick masticatory mucosa, firmly bound to the periosteum (a mucoperiosteum), covers its oral surface. The mucosa carries a midline palatine raphe, transverse ridges called palatine rugae that help grip food, and the incisive papilla over the incisive foramen. Mucous palatine glands lie in the submucosa at the back and sides.

Embryologically the anterior triangle in front of the incisive foramen is the primary palate, derived from the intermaxillary segment (merged medial nasal prominences). The rest is the secondary palate, formed from the two lateral palatine shelves of the maxillary prominences. The shelves rise above the tongue and fuse in weeks 7–10.

Location

Roof of the oral cavity proper and floor of the nasal cavities. The soft palate continues from its posterior edge.

Parts & subdivisions

  1. Palatine processes of maxillae
    Form the anterior two-thirds. The incisive foramen lies in the midline behind the central incisors.
  2. Horizontal plates of palatine bones
    Form the posterior third. The greater and lesser palatine foramina lie near the third molars.
  3. Palatine rugae and raphe
    Transverse mucosal ridges and a midline seam over the intermaxillary suture.

Anatomy

Innervation

The greater palatine nerve supplies the mucosa of most of the hard palate; the nasopalatine nerve, through the incisive foramen, supplies the area behind the incisors. Both are branches of the maxillary nerve (V2) via the pterygopalatine ganglion.

Arterial supply

Greater palatine artery, from the descending palatine branch of the maxillary artery, with a small contribution anteriorly from the sphenopalatine (nasopalatine) artery.

Function

  • Rigid surface against which the tongue crushes and moves food.
  • Separates the oral and nasal cavities, so breathing and chewing can go on together.
  • Contact surface for the tongue in forming consonants.

Clinical significance

Cleft palate

Failure of the palatine shelves to fuse with each other or with the primary palate. Cleft lip with or without cleft palate affects about 1 in 700 births. It causes feeding difficulty, nasal regurgitation, speech problems and middle-ear disease, the last because tensor veli palatini cannot open the auditory tube properly.

Compiled from standard anatomy and physiology references — see the Digestive System sources. For education only; not medical advice.