Papers of the Week

The greater palatine canal route has been well-described in adults for the purposes of anesthetizing the branches of the maxillary division of trigeminal nerve for the relief of sphenopalatine neuralgia . The canal also provides direct access to the contents of the PPF . A complex array of vascular and neural structures characterizes this posterior maxillary region where the GPC is located. Its surgical anatomy can get further complicated by any anatomic variations and identification of vital structures becomes difficult, especially when bleeding during surgery obscures the region. Accurate knowledge of normal anatomy and common anatomical variations therefore remain crucial in minimizing intraoperative and postoperative complications associated with invasive microsurgical approaches to this region. The aim of this study was to explore the architecture of the GPC for any anatomic variations.