Morphological characterization of the nasopalatine region in human fetuses and its association to pathologies

Saulo Gabriel Moreira Falci,Flaviana Dornela Verli,Alberto Consolaro,Cassio Roberto Rocha Dos Santos

doi:10.1590/1679-775720130008

Abstract

The nasopalatine region is composed of structures such as the vomeronasal organ and nasopalatine duct. The nasopalatine duct may provide the communication of the mouth to the nasal cavity in human fetuses and can be obliterated in an adult human. Knowledge on the development of the nasopalatine region and nasopalatine duct in humans is necessary for understanding the morphology and etiopathogenesis of lesions that occur in this region.Objective:The aim of the present study was to describe the morphological aspects of the nasopalatine region in human fetuses and correlate these aspects with the development of pathologies in this region. Material and Methods:Five human fetuses with no facial or palatine abnormalities were used for the acquisition of specimens from the nasopalatine region. After demineralization, the specimens were histologically processed. Histological cuts were stained with methylene blue to orient the cutting plane and hematoxylin-eosin for the descriptive histological analysis. Results:The age of the fetuses was 8.00, 8.25, 9.00 and 9.25 weeks, and it was not possible to determine the age in the last one. The incisive canal was observed in all specimens as an opening delimited laterally by the periosteum and connecting oral and nasal cavity. The nasopalatine duct is an epithelial structure with the greatest morphological variation, with either unilateral or bilateral occurrence and total patent, partial patent and islet forms. The vomeronasal organ is a bilateral epithelized structure located alongside the nasal septum above the incisive canal in all the fetuses. Conclusions:The incisive canal, nasopalatine duct and vomeronasal organ are distinct anatomic structures. The development of nasopalatine duct cysts may occur in all forms of the nasopalatine duct.

Highlights

In most mammals, the nasopalatine duct is responsible for the conduction of pheromones from the mouth to the nasal cavity, thereby assisting in communication and breeding[18]
Variation in shape and occurrence was observed in our fetuses with regard to the nasopalatine duct, which corroborates with clinical reports on the duct described in the literature4,9,13,23 7KLV ¿QGLQJ UHYHDOV DQ XQGH¿QHG EHKDYLRU RI GHYHORSPHQW and persistence of the nasopalatine duct in human fetuses
The presence of the nasopalatine duct or remnants of this duct was observed in the interior of the incisive canal both in the portion near the incisive papilla and near the nasal cavity

Summary

Introduction

The nasopalatine duct is responsible for the conduction of pheromones from the mouth to the nasal cavity, thereby assisting in communication and breeding[18]. The duct generally WHUPLQDWHV LQ WKH ÀRRU RI WKH QDVDO FDYLW\ QHDU the vomeronasal organ. This organ is part of the accessory olfactory system in mammals and is responsible for the capturing of pheromones and neural communication with the central nervous system[18,19]. The function of the vomeronasal organ in humans is contested, since the nasopalatine duct can become blocked following birth[7,15,16]. The vestigial form of the nasopalatine duct in humans may cause problems, such as the development of a nasopalatine duct cyst, which is the most frequent non-odontogenic cyst in the maxilla[9,13,19,21,23].

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Conclusion