For the cranial structure, see Maxillary process of inferior nasal concha

Maxillary process of inferior nasal concha

From the lower border of the inferior nasal concha, a thin lamina, the maxillary process, curves downward and laterally; it articulates with the maxilla and forms a part of the medial wall of the maxillary sinus....

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Continuous with the dorsal end of the mandibular arch, and growing forward from its cephalic border, is a triangular process, the maxillary process (or maxillary prominence), the ventral extremity of which is separated from the mandibular arch by a ">"-shaped notch.

The maxillary process forms the lateral wall and floor of the orbit

Orbit (anatomy)

In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents...

, and in it are ossified the zygomatic bone

Zygomatic bone

The zygomatic bone is a paired bone of the human skull. It articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. The zygomatic is homologous to the jugal bone of other tetrapods...

 and the greater part of the maxilla

Maxilla

The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...

; it meets with the lateral nasal process, from which, however, it is separated for a time by a groove, the naso-optic furrow, that extends from the furrow encircling the eyeball to the olfactory pit

Olfactory pit

By the upgrowth of the surrounding parts the olfactory areas are converted into pits, the nasal pits or olfactory pits, which indent the fronto-nasal process and divide it into a medial and two lateral nasal processes....

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The maxillary processes ultimately fuse with the lateral nasal and globular processes, and form the lateral parts of the upper lip

Upper lip

The upper lip covers the anterior surface of the body of the maxilla.Its upper half is of usual skin color and has a depression at its centre, directly under the nasal septum, called the philtrum, while its lower half is a markedly different, red-colored skin tone more similar to the colour of the...

 and the posterior boundaries of the nares.

It is innervated by the maxillary nerve.