The morphology of M. tensor veli palatini in the five‐month human fetus

Abstract

Abstract The morphology of M. tensor veli palatini in the five‐month human fetus was studied using a light microscopic procedure. The muscle was found to be divided into two fairly distinct bundles. In cross‐section, the fibers of the more lateral bundle coursed in an inferior‐superior direction from the hard palate to the level of the cranial base. The fibers of the bundle lying just lateral to the Eustachian tube and medial to the previously identified bundle ran in a medial‐lateral direction between their attachment to the lateral membranous tubal wall and the fibroelastic tissue layer separating the two bundles. It is suggested that these observations may account in part for lateral movement of the lateral membranous wall without necessitating a hamular or velar insertion of the tensor palati.