Palatine bone
Os palatinum
Definition
The palatine bone is situated at the back part of the nasal cavity between the maxilla and the pterygoid process of the sphenoid.
It contributes to the walls of three cavities: the floor and lateral wall of the nasal cavity, the roof of the mouth, and the floor of the orbit; it enters into the formation of two fossæ, the pterygopalatine and pterygoid fossæ;and one fissure, the inferior orbital fissure.
The palatine bone somewhat resembles the letter L, and consists of a horizontal and a vertical part and three outstanding processes—viz., the pyramidal process, which is directed backward and lateralward from the junction of the two parts, and the orbital and sphenoidal processes, which surmount the vertical part, and are separated by a deep notch, the sphenopalatine notch.
