Greater palatine nerve

The greater palatine nerve (anterior palatine nerve) is a branch of the pterygopalatine ganglion that carries both general sensory fibres from the maxillary nerve and parasympathetic fibers from the nerve of the pterygoid canal. It descends through the greater palatine canal, emerges upon the hard palate through the greater palatine foramen, and passes forward in a groove in the hard palate, nearly as far as the incisor teeth.

It supplies the gums, the mucous membrane and glands of the hard palate, and communicates in front with the terminal filaments of the nasopalatine nerve.

While in the pterygopalatine canal, it gives off lateral posterior inferior nasal branches which enter the nasal cavity through openings in the palatine bone, and ramify over the inferior nasal concha and middle and inferior meatuses; at its exit from the canal, a palatine branch is distributed to both surfaces of the soft palate.