The canalis sinuosus is a passage within the

maxilla In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

through which the anterior superior alveolar nerve,

artery An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

and vein pass. The proximal opening of the canal occurs near the mid-point of the

infraorbital canal The infraorbital canal is a canal found at the base of the orbit that opens on to the maxilla. It is continuous with the infraorbital groove and opens onto the maxilla at the infraorbital foramen. The infraorbital nerve and infraorbital artery t ...

. From its proximal opening, the canalis sinuosus first passes inferolaterally within the maxillary orbital floor where it is situated lateral to the infraorbital canal. It then turns to pass inferomedially and anteriorly while passing through the anterior wall of the

maxillary sinus The pyramid-shaped maxillary sinus (or antrum of Nathaniel Highmore (surgeon), Highmore) is the largest of the paranasal sinuses, located in the maxilla. It drains into the middle meatus of the noseHuman Anatomy, Jacobs, Elsevier, 2008, page 209- ...

(the canal is marked by a groove upon the internal surface of the anterior wall of the sinus). It then courses to the inferior to the

infraorbital foramen In human anatomy, the infraorbital foramen is one of two small holes in the skull's upper jawbone ( maxillary bone), located below the eye socket and to the left and right of the nose. Both holes are used for blood vessels and nerves. In anatomic ...

(of the infraorbital canal) and anterior to the anterior extremity of the

inferior nasal concha The inferior nasal concha (inferior turbinated bone or inferior turbinal/turbinate) is one of the three paired nasal conchae in the human nose, nose. It extends horizontally along the lateral wall of the nasal cavity and consists of a wikt:lam ...

to reach the margin of the anterior nasal aperture. Thereupon, it passes along the inferior rim of the anterior nasal aperture between the

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nas ...

(superiorly), and the tooth sockets (dental alveoli) of the canine and incisor teeth (inferiorly). It ends distally by opening near the

nasal septum The nasal septum () separates the left and right airways of the Human nose, nasal cavity, dividing the two nostrils. It is Depression (kinesiology), depressed by the depressor septi nasi muscle. Structure The fleshy external end of the nasal s ...

anterior to the incisive canals. The canal may be up to 55 mm in length. The anterior superior alveolar nerve turns inferior-ward in the canal and ramifies to innervate the incisor and canine teeth.

References

{{Reflist Foramina of the skull