The vomer bone is a triangular bone in the skull that separates the nasal passages and is responsible for the perception of some pheromones. It is part of the nasal septum and is located dorsal to the hard palate. Different animals have varying shapes and sizes of vomer bones. Before 1975, children with cleft palates were sometimes treated with vomer flap surgery.
The vomer bone is a rigid, triangular organ in the skull of most vertebrates. Part of the nasal septum, the bone is one of the singular facial bones that exists without a corresponding bone. Long, thin and flat, it separates the nasal passages. It is also considered responsible for the perception of some pheromones.
Located dorsal to the hard palate, the vomer bone defines the facial features with several other bones. These include the sphenoid, left and right palatine bones, ethmoid, and left and right maxillary bones. The ethmoid bone itself fits into the groove of the vomer. Many animals, especially cats, have a well-defined and easily visible share.
Two flat surfaces and six edges make up the largely quadrilateral share. Both surfaces of the bone have a nasopalatine groove. This groove runs down and forward with an oblique inclination. The nerves and vessels of the nasal passages are contained in these areas.
A deep furrow marks the upper margin, the thickest of the four. The posterior border is concave, thick above and thin below; the lower edge contributes to forming the crest. The longest edge of the bone, the anterior border, slopes both downward and forward. Its upper part is joined to the plate of the ethmoid bone, while the lower part is grooved to accommodate the septal cartilage of the nose.
Mammals tend to have narrow vomits that exist as single upright bones that tend to bend to one side. Bony fish have flattened pairs of bone that help create the front of the fish’s mouths. Many species have teeth on their vomits to supplement the teeth on their jaws. Some extinct species had larger vomeric teeth than the maxillary teeth.
Birds typically have small vomits located behind their internal nostrils. These form the upper back of the beak. Reptiles and amphibians have narrower vomits to accommodate their larger nostrils. Their vomits also usually extend back into the jaw.
Before 1975, children with cleft palates were sometimes treated with vomer flap surgery. This involved using plowshares to rebuild the palate and cover the fissure itself. Various other surgical methods, including the Millard procedure, have replaced this procedure.
Vomer is Latin for “ploughshare”. The bone was so named because it resembles the cutting component of the plough. Some argue that the bone can be moved by alternately hitting the palate with the tongue while pressing the fingers between the eyebrows. No scientific data has been able to prove this theory.
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