Quick Facts
Origin: Hard palate.
Course: Passes through the greater palatine foramina in the hard palate and ascend through the palatine canal in the maxilla to reach the pterygoid plexus of veins in the infratemporal fossa.
Tributaries: Lesser palatine veins.
Drainage: Hard palate and gingiva.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The greater palatine veins arise from the lateral margins of the hard palate.
Course
The greater palatine veins pass through the greater palatine foramina in the posterolateral angle of the hard palate. These accompany their corresponding arterial palatine branches from the maxillary artery and ascend through the palatine canal in the maxilla. Here, they join with the lesser palatine veins which course through the lesser palatine foramina to enter the palatine canal. The palatine veins drain into the pterygoid plexus of veins inside the infratemporal fossa.
Tributaries
The greater palatine vein receives a lesser palatine vein in the palatine canal.
Structures Drained
The greater palatine vein drains the hard palate and the gingiva.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Vein
A venous sinus is a vein with a thin wall of endothelium that is devoid of smooth muscle to regulate its diameter.
