| lesser palatine artery | <anatomy, artery> One of several posterior branches of the descending palatine in the greater palatine canal, distributed to the soft palate and tonsil. Synonym: arteria palatina minor. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| lesser palatine foramina | Openings on the hard palate of palatine canals passing vertically through the tuberosity of the palatine bone and transmitting the smaller palatine nerves and vessels. Synonym: foramina palatina minora, posterior palatine foramina. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lesser palatine nerves | Usually two, these nerves emerge through the lesser palatine foramina and supply the mucosa and glands of the soft palate and uvula; they are branches of the pterygopalatine ganglion and contain postsynaptic parasympathetic and sensory fibres of the maxillary nerve. Synonym: nervi palatini minores. (05 Mar 2000) |