40 PRACTICAL ANATOMY. 



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surface of bone, the malar process, with which the malar 

 articulates. The lower margin of this surface looks 

 obliquely downward and forward, and is more or less 

 straight; the upper margin is concave and terminates 

 posteriorly in a hook-like process, which articulates with 

 the great wing of the sphenoid. This process projects 

 from the side of the superior maxilla, its lower border 

 being horizontally notched, affording attachment for 

 the masseter muscle. The posterior margin is also 

 concave and vertical. The anterior border of the su- 

 perior surface, internal to the malar process, is smooth, 

 rounded, and forms part of the circumference of the 

 orbit. 



The posterior surface of the body is directed nearly 

 vertically downward, is bluntly rounded, and presents 

 along its inner border a groove, which, when articulated 

 with the vertical plate of the palate, is converted into 

 the posterior palatine canal. Along the posterior border 

 are several foramina, the posterior dental, which trans- 

 mit nerves and vessels to the molar teeth. At the 

 lower portion is the post-molar tubercle, prominent 

 after the eruption of the wisdom-tooth. After the ab- 

 sorption of the alveolus, consequent upon loss of the 

 teeth, the post-molar tubercle frequently disappears. At 

 its lower portion it articulates with the tuberosity of 

 the palate, and sometimes with the pterygoid process 

 of the sphenoid. The posterior border of the superior 

 maxillary forms the anterior boundary of the pterygo- 

 maxillary fissure, and limits the spheno-maxillary 

 fossa anteriorly. The internal surface forms part 

 of the outer wall of the nose and mouth. It is 

 divided by a horizontal process of bone, the palatine, 

 which projects inward from the line of junction of the 

 lower with the middle third of the inner surface. That 



