Surgically the most important of the facial bones are the two _superior maxillary bones_, because of the number of diseases to which they are liable. They meet in front, together forming the upper jaw, and with the malar bone help form the lower part of the orbit of the eye. They are cuboid in shape and are hollowed out into a pyramidal cavity called the _antrum of Highmore_, which opens by a small orifice into the middle nasal meatus and which sometimes becomes infected and has to be tapped. The nasal process for articulation with the frontal and nasal bones has, at its lower edge, a crest for the inferior turbinated bone, and close beside this on the inside, extending down from the upper edge, is a deep groove which, with the lachrymal and inferior turbinated bones, helps to form the lachrymal canal for the nasal tear duct. The bones give attachment to many small muscles, connected for the most part with the nose and mouth, of which the masseter is the only important one. The two _malar_ or _cheek bones_ are small quadrangular bones, which form the prominences of the cheeks and help form the orbits of the eyes. Projecting backward from each is a zygomatic process for articulation with the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, while a maxillary process extends downward for articulation with the superior maxillary. Here again the most important muscle attached is the masseter. If the malar bone is crushed great deformity results. The _lachrymal bones_ are two small bones, about the size and shape of a finger-nail, situated at the front of the inner wall of the orbit. At the external edge is a groove which lodges the lachrymal sac above and forms part of the lachrymal canal below. The two _palate bones_ are at the back of the nasal fossæ and help to form the floor of the nose, the roof of the mouth, and the orbit. Each has a vertical and a horizontal plate, and it is these last that by their juncture form the _hard palate_. Oftentimes in cases of hare-lip _cleft palate_ also occurs, the result of incomplete development. To remedy the consequent opening in the roof of the mouth, which makes articulation difficult, operation is generally resorted to, though sometimes a plate is fitted over the opening by a dentist. The _nasal bones_ are two small oblong bones which articulate with the frontal and superior maxillary bones and with each other. They form the bridge of the nose, the rest of the nose being wholly of cartilage, except for the _vomer_, a bone shaped like a plough-share, which forms part of the nasal septum, articulating along its anterior edge with the ethmoid and the triangular cartilage.