Lesser palatine arteries

The lesser palatine arteries are arteries of the head. It is a branch of the descending palatine artery. They supply the palatine tonsils and the soft palate.

Lesser palatine arteries
Details
Source	Descending palatine artery
Branches	Tonsillary
Supplies	Palatine tonsils, soft palate
Identifiers
Latin	arteriae palatinae minores
TA98	A12.2.05.086
TA2	4458
FMA	71688
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

Structure

The lesser palatine arteries are branches of the descending palatine artery.^[1] They go through the lesser palatine foramina.^[2] They anastomose with the ascending pharyngeal artery.^[2]

Function

The lesser palatine arteries give off tonsillary branches to supply the palatine tonsils.^[3] They also gives off mucosal branches that usually supply the soft palate,^[2][4] and potentially the hard palate.^[5]

See also

• Lesser palatine nerve

References

1. Choi, Jinho; Park, Hyung-Sik (1 January 2003). "The clinical anatomy of the maxillary artery in the pterygopalatine fossa". Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 61 (1): 72–78. doi:10.1053/joms.2003.50012. ISSN 0278-2391. PMID 12524612.
2. Miwa, Yoko; Asaumi, Rieko; Kawai, Taisuke; Maeda, Yuuki; Sato, Iwao (1 February 2018). "Morphological observation and CBCT of the bony canal structure of the groove and the ___location of blood vessels and nerves in the palatine of elderly human cadavers". Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy. 40 (2): 199–206. doi:10.1007/s00276-017-1952-6. ISSN 1279-8517. PMID 29204678.
3. "Lesser palatine arteries" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
4. Maistry, T.; Lazarus, L.; Partab, P.; Satyapal, K. S. (2012). "An Anatomical Study of the Arterial Supply to the Soft Palate". International Journal of Morphology. 30 (3): 847–857. doi:10.4067/S0717-95022012000300014. S2CID 39720355.
5. Zhang, K. Q. (1 January 1994). "Artery supply of the lip and palate in normal and cleft patients". Chinese Journal of Stomatology. 29 (1): 30–3, 63. ISSN 1002-0098. PMID 7995132.