IV. The formation and early growth of the bones of the human face

Abstract

I Propose in the following notes to relate some observations respecting the formation and growth of the bones of the human face. It is not my purpose to consider minutely the process of ossification, but simply to mention such of my experiences as differ from the commonly received statements, or which seem to supply information regarding some few points with which we are as yet imperfectly acquainted, such as the growth of the maxillæ, and the formation and eventual obliteration of the intermaxillary bones. Of the cartilaginous and membranous structures of the cranium, before ossification has commenced, two processes of cartilage, trabeculæ cranii of Rathke, extend into the anterior division of the skull, forming by their union the frontal nasal process, and from between which the internasal cartilage is derived. Lateral masses, inflected lateral cartilages, represent the future ethmoid and inferior turbinate bones.