Where the palatine bone sits in the skeleton
The palatine bone is one of a pair of L-shaped bones at the back of the roof of the mouth. They form the rear of the hard palate and part of the side walls of the nasal cavity. Its horizontal plate forms the back of the hard palate, and its upright perpendicular plate forms the back of the side wall of the nasal cavity.
Frequently asked questions
Which part of the skeleton is the palatine bone in?
The palatine bone is one of the bones of the skull and hyoid. This group covers the bones that enclose the brain, the bones that frame the face, and the hyoid at the front of the neck.
How many bones are in the skull?
The skull has 22 bones: eight cranial bones that enclose the brain and fourteen facial bones that frame the face. The hyoid in the front of the neck is a separate bone that forms no joint with any other bone.
Is there one palatine bone or a pair?
The palatine bone is paired: there is one on the left and one on the right, and this page covers both.
Which bones form the hard palate?
The palatine processes of the two maxillae at the front, and the horizontal plates of the two palatine bones at the back.
Other bones of the skull and hyoid
- Frontal bone
- Parietal bone
- Temporal bone
- Occipital bone
- Sphenoid bone
- Ethmoid
- Zygomatic bone
- Maxilla
- Mandible
- Nasal bone
- Lacrimal bone
- Vomer
- Inferior nasal concha
- Hyoid bone
Bone counts
By region
Read more
Related reading
- Sarcopenia: what to measure, and what to do, when muscle and strength decline
- What getting up from a chair says about how your body is ageing
- Why ageing bone marrow turns to fat, and a PEMF study in mice
- PEMF and whole-body vibration: two rhythms that reach the body
- Myokines: the signals working muscle sends to the body
- Ageing parents: the changes families notice first
Once the 3D model loads you can turn it and select each part.