48 150XES OF THE HEAD. 



are distinguislied as the fornmina of Scarpa. The whole communi- 

 cation between the nose and the palate may be designated collectively 

 as the anterior jjalaiiiie canal. 



Fig. 40. — Front Pakt of thf. Palate and 

 Alveolar, Arch of an Adult. | 



Showing the lower opening of the anterior palatine 

 or incisor foramen. 1, 2, are placed on the palate plates 

 of the two superior maxillary bones ; 4, anterior pa- 

 latine foramen, in which is seen a jjartial division into 

 four ojienings — the two lateral, with lines pointing to 

 tlieni from 1 and 2, are the incisor foramina (foramina 

 of Stenson) ; the anterior and posterior, indicated by 

 3 and 4, are the naso-palatine, or foramina of Scarpa. 



The terms i!ici.iorf o?-a mm and nntc'7'ior jfakifinc canal are often used convertibly 

 and vagfuely to express what has been above defined as the anterior palatine canal, or 

 its inferior opening. According to the definitions here given, inclxor fnvanirn has 

 the same meaning in human as in comparative anatomy, while anterior palatine 

 canal is restricted to an ajipearance which presents itself only in man and a few 

 animals. The lamina passing backwards from before each incisor foramen corre- 

 sponds to the mesial palatine process of the intermaxillary bone in other animals. 

 e.g. the camivora : while the incisor foramina are those which are seen largely 

 developed in those animals, and are the remains of a primitive communication 

 between the nose and mouth. The foramina of Scarpa lie in the suture between 

 the laminaj referred to. They transmit the naso-palatine nei-ves : the nerve of 

 the right side occupying, according to Scai"pa, the i)osterior one, which is usuall}^ 

 largest, and that of the left side, the anterior : but they are very inconstant. 

 (Scarpa, Annot. Anatom., lib. ii. cap. 5.) 



The cxfernal surface is divided into an anterior and a posterior part 

 by the malar /rrorr.^.^, a prominence situated above the first molar tooth, 

 and presenting- a large triangular roughness for articulation Avith the 

 malar bone. The anterior portion is deeply notched at its internal 

 margin for the opening of the anterior nares. It is marked by a pro- 

 minence corresponding to the position of the fang of the canine tooth ; 

 and internal to this is a slight depression, the iacisor or miirflform fossa ; 

 while between it and the malar process is the deeper canine fossa, in 

 which arise the levator anguli oris and compressor nasi muscles. 

 Above the canine fossa, nnmediatcly belaw the margin of the orbit, is 

 the in fra-orlital foramen, which transmits the superior maxillary nerve. 

 The posterior portion looks partly into the zygomatic, partly into the 

 pterygo-maxillary fossa. It exhibits a rough convexity, the tuhcrosiUj, 

 projecting backwards, and is perforated by a number of foramina 

 transmitting the superior dental nerves and arteries. 



The na.ml, process projects upwards from the anterior and internal 

 ]")art of the bone. Its internal surface, towards its summit, is rough 

 for articulation with the lateral mass of the ethmoid ; its anterior 

 border is rough for articulation with the nasal bone, and its summit 

 serrated for articulation with the frontal. Posteriorly it articulates by 

 a linear edge with the lachrymal bone ; and external to this it presents 

 a well-marked groove for the lachrymal sac, the /ac//ri/inal r/rooir, which 

 is continued downwards on the inner surfoce of the bone, between this 

 process and the orbital plate, and with the lachrymal and inferior 

 turbinated bones forms the nasal canal. 



The nasal surface presents an oblique rough line or ridge beneath the 



