Incisive foramen

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Bone: Incisive foramen
The bony palate and alveolar arch.
Base of skull. Inferior surface.
Latin	foramina incisiva
Gray's	subject #38 162

The incisive foramen is an opening in the bone of the oral hard palate where blood vessels and nerves may pass. There are four of these openings in the incisive fossa.

Formation

When the two maxillæ are articulated, a funnel-shaped opening, the incisive foramen, is seen in the middle line, immediately behind the incisor teeth.

Location

Continuous with the incisive canal, this foramen or group of foramina are located posterior to the central incisor teeth in the incisive fossa of the maxilla.

Innervation

The incisive foramen receives the nasopalatine nerves from the floor of the nasal cavity along with the sphenopalatine arteries supplying the oral mucosa covering the hard palate of the mouth

External links

• Photo at UNC.edu
• SUNY Figs 22:4b-01
• Incisive+foramen at eMedicine Dictionary
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 34257.000-1

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.

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