Gross and morphometrical studies on the bony palate of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus)

The bony palate of the domestic pig was formed rostrally by the bodies and palatine processes of the incisive bones, at the middle by the palatine processes of the maxillae and caudally by the horizontal parts of the palatine bones. The palatine process of the maxillae fused with its fellow along the midline and constituted the major portion of the bony palate. The total length of the bony palate was 20.81 cm and the maximum width, observed just behind the canine tooth level, was 6.7 0.5 cm. The palatine fissures were elongated and oval in shape and were located in the rostral part of the bony palate. An oval-shaped major palatine foramen was present on either side of the mid-palatine suture in the caudal part of the palatine process of the maxilla near its junction with the horizontal part of the palatine bone at the level of the junction between the last two upper molar teeth. The distance between the two major palatine foramina was 2.3 0.4 cm. An eminentia canina forming a projection for the canine tooth was observed on the cranial portion of the alveolar processes of the maxilla. Oblique ridges were present on either side of the mid palatine suture on the horizontal part of the palatine bone. At the level of third molar tooth, two to three oval-shaped minor palatine foramina were observed on either side of the mid-palatine suture near the palatomaxillary suture. The mean palatine index was 32.3 1.2 .