THE ALIMENTARY APPARATUS. 223 



muscles on each side : tensor palati, levator palati, palatoglossus, 

 palato-pharyngeus, and azygos uvulae, the latter uniting with its 

 fellow to form the uvula. 



Hard palate is formed by the palatal process of the superior 

 maxillary and the palate-bone, and covered by a thick,, dm re- 

 structure composed of mucous membrane and periosteum com- 

 bined. It forms the roof of the mouth, and presents a median 

 rap he and corrugated surface. 



Anterior pillars of the fauces are folds of mucous mem- 

 brane arching downward and forward from the base of the 

 uvula to the base of the tongue, and inclosing the palatoglossus 

 muscles. 



Posterior pillars of the fauces are similar folds arching 

 downward and backward from the base of the uvula to the sides 

 of the pharynx, and inclosing the palato-pharyngeus muscles. 



The tonsils, or amygdalae, are small, almond-shaped, glandu- 

 lar bodies situated on each side of the fauces between the an- 

 terior and posterior pillars. They rest upon the superior con- 

 strictor of the pharynx, which separates them from the ascending 

 pharyngeal and internal carotid arteries. They are composed of 

 numerous follicles (lined by closed capsules containing adenoid 

 tissue), which contain a thick, grayish secretion and open on 

 the surface of the gland by a dozen or more orifices. 



The arteries to the tonsil are from the tonsillar and ascend- 

 ing palatine of the facial, dorsalis linguae from the lingual, 

 ascending pharyngeal from external carotid, branch from small 

 meningeal, and descending palatine branch of internal maxillary. 



The nerves are from glossopharyngeal and MeckePs gan- 

 glion. 



THE SALIVARY GLANDS. The salivary glands communicat- 

 ing with the mouth are three: the parotid, submaxillary, and 

 sublingual. 



The parotid gland, so called from its location near the ear, 

 is the largest, weighing from a half to one ounce. It occupies 

 the space in front of the ear, bounded below by the angle of the 

 jaw, and a line extended from it to the mastoid process, above 

 by the zygoma, in front by the masseter muscle, and behind by the 

 mastoid process, the external meatus, and the digastric muscle. 

 The external carotid artery, the temporo-maxillary vein, the 

 facial nerve, and the great auricular nerve pass through it. 



The duct of the parotid gland, Steno's or Stenson's duct, 

 empties its secretion into the mouth. It is about two and a 

 half inches in length, of the diameter of a crow's quill, am! 

 crosses the face upon the masseter muscle, through the substance 

 of the buccinator muscle, in the direction ol an imaginary line 



