26 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 



Processes. The frontal process extends upward along the 

 side of the nasal bone to join the frontal. The palate process 

 is in the roof of the mouth, the bony part of the roof being called 

 the hard palate. The alveolar process (or alveolus) is the thick 

 border of bone in which the upper teeth are fixed. This process 

 is very spongy and is sometimes broken in extracting a tooth. 

 The zygomatic process joins the zygomatic bone to form the 

 prominence of the cheek. 



Foramina and in- 

 cisive suture 



Palate process 



Palatine foramina 

 in a palate bone 



FIG. 16. THE HARD PALATE, OR ROOF OF THE MOUTH. (Morris.) 



Palate bones (os palatinum, sing.). Right and left; shaped like 

 the capital letter L, and placed behind the maxilla. The upright 

 portion is in the side of the nose at the back; the horizontal 

 portion lies in the floor of the nose, being at the same time in the 

 roof of the mouth, and thus completing the hard palate (Fig. 21). 



Inferior turbinated bones (concha nasalis inferior, sing.). 

 Right and left; situated in the right and left walls of the nasal 

 cavity below the superior and middle turbinated bones which 

 belong to the ethmoid (Fig. 25). Each is composed of a thin plate 

 of spongy tissue, having one edge rolled under like a shell (concha); 

 they extend from front to back on the lateral wall of the cavity. 



Clinical note. Hypertrophy (or overgrowth) of the inferior 

 turbinated bone is a frequent cause of obstruction to proper 

 breathing. 



Vomer. A thin bone resembling a plowshare in shape, joined 

 above with the vertical plate of the ethmoid, and below with the 



