Morphological and morphometric study of hard palate in Indian population

Abstract

Aim of study: The hard palate is an essential part of the human skull and plays an important role in the passive articulation of speech. The present study aimed to determine morphometric study of hard palate, location of the position of the greater palatine foramen (GPF) in relation to maxillary molars and number of lesser palatine foramina (LPF). Materials and Methods: 86 dried unsexed adult Indian skulls procured from the Department of Anatomy, University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India. The length, breadth, and height of the hard palate were measured and Palatine indices were calculated. Observations were made on the positional relationship of GPF and number of LPF. Results: Palatal length and breadth showed highly significant difference whereas no significant difference was found in palatal height between both sexes. The palatine Index showed that majority of the skulls had narrow palate. The greater palatine foramen was found to be at the level of third molar in 59%, in between second and third molars in 35%, at the level of second molar in 5% and 1% were situated behind third molar. In majority of the skulls (6o %) only one lesser palatine foramen was found and about 34% of the skulls had two lesser palatine foramina and 3% of skulls had 3 lesser palatine foramina. Conclusion: These observations can be utilized for anthropological studies, greater palatine nerve block, and surgical procedures in hard palate.