greater palatine foramen

greater palatine foramen

n.

An opening in the rear corner of the hard palate opposite the last molar tooth. Also called posterior palatine foramen.

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foramen (frā´mn),

n 1. a natural opening in a bone or other structure.
2. a natural opening in the root, usually at or near the apical end.

Foramen.

foramen, apical

(frā´mn ā´pikl),
n the opening entryway at the root's apex, from which the blood vessels and nerves radiate out to the rest of the tooth. Often located within a range of several millimeters of the precise anatomic high point of the root.

foramen cecum

(frā´mn sē´kum),
n a small, pit-like depression in the dorsal surface of the tongue where the median lingual sulcus meets the lingual tonsil.

foramen, greater palatine,

n a small opening of the hard palate located near the second and third molars in which the palatine vessels and greater palatine nerve travel.

foramen, incisive

n (nasopalatine foramen), 1. the opening of the incisive (nasopalatine) canal marked by the incisive papilla.
2. the foramen, or opening, in the midline of the palate in the region where the premaxilla and maxillae join, which is situated palatal to the maxillary central incisors; contains branches of the right and left nasopalatine vessels and nerve.

foramen, infraorbital,

n a small opening in the maxilla at the terminal end of the infraorbital canal. Its location can be roughly approximated by mapping the intersection of an imaginary straight line drawn between the eyes and the nose.

foramen, lingual,

n a small opening that can be present in the midline of the mandible through which an artery connecting to the sublingual right and left lingual arteries travels. Cannot be noted radiographically.

foramen magnum,

n an opening in the occipital bone through which the spinal cord enters the spinal column.

foramen, mandibular,

n an opening on the medial aspect of the vertical ramus of the mandible approximately midway between the mandibular and gonial notches; may be located posterior to the middle of the ramus. It carries interior alveolar vessels and the inferior alveolar nerve.

foramen, mental,

n an opening on the lateral aspect of the body of the mandible inferior to the apices of the mandibular second or first premolar. The mental vessels and nerve pass through this foramen to travel through the mandibular canal to supply the lip. In edentulous mandibles, the bone may have been resorbed, so that it is in such a position that the denture base will cover it.

foramen, nasopalatine,

n See foramen, incisive.

foramen, ovale

(ōvāl´),
n 1. an oval-shaped opening located between the two atria of a developing fetal heart.
2. an oval-shaped opening located in the sphenoid bone in which travels the mandibular nerve, emissary veins, accessory meningeal artery, and otic ganglion.

foramen, rotundum

(rōtun´dm),
n a round opening located in the sphenoid bone in which travels the maxillary nerve.