Descending palatine vessels

Descending palatine artery
Plan of branches of internal maxillary artery. ("Desc. pal." visible in upper right.)
Plan of branches of internal maxillary artery. (Artery not labeled, but region is visible.)
Details
Source	maxillary artery (3rd part)
Branches	greater palatine artery, lesser palatine arteries
Supplies	hard palate, soft palate
Identifiers
Latin	arteria palatina descendens
Dorlands /Elsevier	a_61/12155339
TA	A12.2.05.084
FMA	49791
Anatomical terminology []

The descending palatine artery is a branch of the third part of the maxillary artery supplying the hard and soft palate.

It descends through the greater palatine canal with the greater and lesser palatine branches of the pterygopalatine ganglion, and, emerging from the greater palatine foramen, runs forward in a groove on the medial side of the alveolar border of the hard palate to the incisive canal; the terminal branch of the artery passes upward through this canal to anastomose with the sphenopalatine artery.

Branches are distributed to the gums, the palatine glands, and the mucous membrane of the roof of the mouth; while in the pterygopalatine canal it gives off twigs which descend in the lesser palatine canals to supply the soft palate and palatine tonsil, anastomosing with the ascending palatine artery.

According to Terminologia Anatomica, the descending palatine artery branches into the greater palatine artery and lesser palatine arteries.

Base of skull. Inferior surface.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)