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Updated: May 5, 2026

Lateral Molar Approach-Driven Transoral Endoscopic Procedure for Benign Infratemporal Fossa Tumor Resection
Published on: August 15, 2025
Anatomical and clinical considerations regarding the greater palatine foramen
V Nimigean1, Vanda Roxana Nimigean, Lavinia Buţincu
1Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dental Medicine, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania; vandanimigean@yahoo.com.
Objective:
In this study, we mapped the topography of the greater palatine foramen (GPF), within the South-Eastern European population, according to clinically identifiable anatomical landmarks.
Materials And Methods:
We used 100 dry adult human skulls, of which 75 were bilaterally dentate, whereas 25 were partially edentulous.
Results:
The shape of the GPF was oval in 84% of the cases. The foramen was located internally from the third molar in 73% of the skulls. The greater palatine canal showed an antero-infero-medial direction in 82% of the cases. The average values of the distances between the GPF and the oral surfaces of the maxillary third molar, the medio-palatine suture, the posterior margin of the hard palate, the pterygoid hamulus and the pterygo-maxillary suture were 11.0 (SD 1.5), 14.5 (SD 0.8), 4.4 (SD 1.1), 12.0 (SD 1.8) and 10.5 mm (SD 1.3), respectively.
Conclusions:
A thorough knowledge of GPF's various positions may assist the clinicians in providing improved surgical techniques in the area.
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