Palatina

Palatina is a term derived from the Latin palātīnus, meaning “of the palate.” In English, palatine is the common form for structures related to the palate; palatina is not typically used as a stand-alone term in anatomy, but appears in languages with gendered noun forms and in historical or regional names.

In anatomy, the palatine bones are a pair of irregularly shaped bones that contribute to the posterior part of the hard palate and to the walls of the nasal cavity and orbital framework. Each palatine bone has a horizontal plate that forms part of the hard palate and a vertical plate that helps create the lateral wall of the nasal cavity and part of the orbit. The bones articulate with the maxilla, sphenoid, inferior nasal concha, vomer, and with the other palatine bone.

Other uses in anatomy and medicine arise from the broader sense of “palatine” as related to the palate. The palatine region includes the palatine tonsils (tonsilla palatinae) at the oropharynx, the palatine arches, and various foramina and nerves associated with the palatine bone, such as the greater palatine nerve passing through the greater palatine canal.

Geographically and historically, the term Palatina appears in Latin or Romance-language contexts to denote things pertaining to the Palatinate region in what is now southwestern Germany (historically called Pfalz) or to items associated with the palate. In modern English, such regional usage is rare, and palatine remains the more common term for palate-related structures.

See also: palatine bone, palatine tonsil, greater palatine foramen, palatine arches.