Any of the the series of transverse folds (ridges) of the mucosa located on the anterior third part of the secondary (hard) palate of most mammalian species. [ MP:0009652 ]
Synonyms: hard palate palatal rugae impressiones rugales palatine fold transverse palatine folds plica palatina transversa palatine rugae hard palate ruga ruga of palate transverse palatine ridge ruga palatina transverse palatine folds set rugae of palate palatal rugae rugae palatinae plicae palatinae transversae
Term information
- EMAPA:35638
- FMA:75652
pheno_slim
A masticatory vestige on the hard palate; one of several irregular, sometimes branching, crests of soft tissue that radiate from the region of the incisive papillae at their most anterior parts and extend a slight distance backward, crossing the hard palate and reaching laterally for variable distances.
this class refers to the singular and the FMA class refers to the set. In future this class may be split.
rugae are present on each side of the median palatal raphe and behind the incisive papillae, but their number and arrangement are species specific; together with the teeth and the tongue, rugae take part in mastication by helping to sense, hold and mash the food; rugae harbor various types of intraepithelial sensory structures (such as Merckel cells, corpuscular endings and free nerve endings), and play a sensory role when the food is pressed by the tongue against the hard palate[MP]
Term relations
- rugal fold
- neural crest-derived structure
- part of some mucosa of hard palate
- part of some hard palate