Prodanchuk A. Anatomical peculiarities of the hard palate at the early period of ontogenesis

With the purpose to determine peculiarities of chronological succession of temporal transformations in the structure and topography of the hard palate at the early period of ontogenesis 118 specimens of human embryos, pre-fetuses, fetuses and neonates were examined by means of adequate anatomical methods of investigation including micro-, macroscopic examinations, preparation of topographic-anatomical sections, X-ray examination, computed tomography, morphometry and statistical processing of data. Classical knowledge concerning the terms of rudiments and peculiarities of the early development of the hard palate structure and their adjacent formations is specified. The stages of morphogenesis of the hard palate structures, their syntopic interrelations with the adjacent structures during the prenatal period of human ontogenesis are determined. The periods of an accelerated development of the hard palate in the second and third trimesters of the intrauterine development are determined for the first time (in the middle and at the end of the fetal period of ontogenesis), as well as the periods of a relative decelerated development (7-8 months). Chronological succession of time transformations of the organometric parameters of the hard palate during the whole stages of the prenatal development, their correlation with sizes of the face and cranium during the fetal and early neonatal periods are found. The amplitude of individual anatomical differences of the hard palate in fetuses and newborns is determined, which is important for specification of the terms and stages of its morphogenesis after birth. The conducted study of organometric parameters of the hard palate in fetuses and newborns with the following detection of its forms and types creates preconditions for establishing typical and variable anatomy.