58 OSTEOLOGY, OR ANATOMY OF OSSEOUS SYSTEM 



tween them; each ala meets the vaginal process of the sphenoid 

 and the sphenoidal process of the palate. 



There are usually three vomerobasilar canals a median, 

 between ala and rostrum for nutrient vessels; an upper lateral 

 one, between the body of the sphenoid and root of the vaginal 

 process, carrying vessels to the sphenoidal cells; a lower lateral 

 one, between the body of the sphenoid and the sphenoidal 

 process of the palate, carrying vessels and nerves from the 

 nasal and sphenomaxillary fossae to the upper pharynx. 



The anterior border is grooved in its lower half for the septal 

 cartilage; in its upper half it is ankylosed on one or both sides, 

 usually the right, with the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid. 

 At the inferior anterior angle is a short vertical edge to fit 

 in behind the incisor crest of the maxilla 1 ; from its upper end 

 a process runs forward in the groove of the crest, and from its 

 lower end a point may project down between the incisor fora- 

 mina. The inferior border articulates with the nasal crest of 

 the maxillae and palate bones; the posterior border is rounded, 

 thin, concave from above downward, and free, and separates 

 the posterior nares. 



The Malar Bones 



This cheek bone separates the orbit from the temporal 

 fossa and articulates with four bones the frontal, sphenoid, 

 temporal, and superior maxillary. It is quadrangular, witli 

 the angles directed vertically and horizontally; it may be 

 thought of as formed of a triangular orbital plate united at 

 a sharp angle to a quadrangular malar plate. The outer ftnrfacr 

 presents a little below the centre the malar tuberosity, and above 

 this the orifice of the malar canal. The inner xnrface is concave, 

 looks into the temporal and zygomatic fossae, and presents a 

 roughness in front and below for articulation with the superior 

 maxilla. The upper angle or frontal process is serrated for the 

 external angular process of the frontal. The temporal border 

 behind this is sinuous and continuous with the upper border 

 of the zygoma. 



The posterior angle .or temporal process has the zygoma rest- 

 ing upon and articulating with it. The posteroinferior border, 

 the masseteric, completes the lower edge of the zygomatic 

 arch; the anteroinferior border, the maxillary, and a rough 



