The lesser palatine canals (also accessory palatine canals) are passages in the

palatine bone In anatomy, the palatine bones () are two irregular bones of the facial skeleton in many animal species, located above the uvula in the throat. Together with the maxillae, they comprise the hard palate. (''Palate'' is derived from the Latin ...

that carry the lesser and middle palatine nerves and vessels.

Structure

The lesser palatine canals start from the

greater palatine canal The greater palatine canal (or pterygopalatine canal) is a passage in the skull that transmits the descending palatine artery, vein, and greater and lesser palatine nerves between the pterygopalatine fossa and the oral cavity. Structure The ...

, and run with them, also opening into the roof of the

oral cavity In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on t ...

. Their openings are known as the lesser palatine foramina, and they transmit the lesser palatine artery, vein, and nerve, as well as the middle palatine vessels and nerve.

References

Bones of the head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub ro:Canale palatine mici

Structure

See also

References