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Hard palate
Mouth (oral cavity)
Latin	palatum durum
Gray's	subject #38
Artery	greater palatine artery
Nerve	greater palatine nerve, nasopalatine nerve
MeSH	Hard+Palate

The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate of the skull, located in the roof of the mouth. It spans the arch formed by the upper teeth.

It is formed by the palatine process of the maxilla and horizontal plate of palatine bone.

It forms a partition between the nasal passages and the mouth. Also on the anterior portion of the roof of the hard palate is the Rugae which are the irregular ridges in the mucous membrane that help facilitate the movement of food backwards towards the pharynx. This partition is continued deeper into the mouth by a fleshy extension called the soft palate.

Function [edit]

The hard palate is important for feeding and speech. Mammals with a defective hard palate may die shortly after birth due to inability to suckle (see Cleft below). It is also involved in mastication in many species. The interaction between the tongue and the hard palate is essential in the formation of certain speech sounds, notably /t/, /d/, /j/, and /ɟ/.

Pathology [edit]

Cleft [edit]

In the birth defect called cleft palate, the left and right portions of this plate are not joined, forming a gap between the mouth and nasal passage (a related defect affecting the face is cleft lip).

While cleft palate has a severe impact upon the ability to nurse and speak, it is now successfully treated through reconstructive surgical procedures at an early age, where such procedures are available.

Palatal abscesses [edit]

The proximity of the dento-alveolar process explains the forming of palatal abscesses and the palatal mucosa and submucosa with its numerous glands and the squamous keratinized epithelium is in correlation with the rich tumoral pathology.^[1]

Additional images [edit]

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  Mouth

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  The bony palate and alveolar arch.

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  Base of skull. Inferior surface.

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  Sagittal section of skull.

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  Roof, floor, and lateral wall of left nasal cavity.

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  Nerves of septum of nose. Right side.

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  Lateral wall of nasal cavity.

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  Coronal section of nasal cavities.

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  Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Hard+palate at eMedicine Dictionary
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 25420.000-1