Head and Neck Anatomy Flashcards
7 cards from real MFDS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Head and Neck Anatomy flashcards as text
The nasopalatine nerve enters the hard palate through which foramen?
Answer: Incisive foramen
The nasopalatine nerve (from CN V2) descends through the nasopalatine canal and emerges through the incisive foramen in the midline of the anterior hard palate, supplying the mucosa behind the upper incisors.
The greater palatine nerve supplies the palatal mucosa in which region?
Answer: Hard palate from the canine region to the posterior margin
The greater palatine nerve, emerging from the greater palatine foramen, supplies the mucosa of the hard palate from the canine tooth region posteriorly to the soft palate junction.
Which muscle forms the muscular floor ('diaphragm') of the oral cavity?
Answer: Mylohyoid
The paired mylohyoid muscles, meeting at a midline raphe and attached to the mylohyoid line of the mandible and the hyoid bone, form the muscular floor of the mouth.
The posterior superior alveolar nerve typically supplies which maxillary molar roots?
Answer: All roots of the second and third molars, and the distobuccal and palatal roots of the first molar
The posterior superior alveolar nerve typically supplies the maxillary second and third molars in their entirety and the distobuccal and palatal roots of the first molar; the mesiobuccal root of the first molar is usually supplied by the middle superior alveolar nerve.
Which fascial space communicates directly with the infratemporal fossa and is targeted during an inferior alveolar nerve block?
Answer: Pterygomandibular space
The pterygomandibular space, bounded medially by the medial pterygoid muscle and laterally by the ramus of the mandible, communicates directly with the infratemporal fossa superiorly and contains the inferior alveolar nerve and vessels.
The four muscles of mastication are all innervated by which nerve?
Answer: Mandibular nerve (CN V3)
The masseter, temporalis, medial pterygoid, and lateral pterygoid are all supplied by the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V3), reflecting their shared origin from the first pharyngeal arch mesoderm.
At which anatomical point does the facial artery cross the inferior border of the mandible?
Answer: At the antegonial notch, just anterior to the masseter
The facial artery hooks around the inferior border of the mandible at the antegonial notch, immediately anterior to the anterior border of the masseter, where the pulse can be palpated and haemorrhage can be controlled by compression.