You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


Soft palate

Translation
Soft palate
Soft palate
Tonsils diagram.jpg
Gray855.png
Lateral wall of nasal cavity. (Soft palate visible in lower right)
Latin palatum molle, velum palatinum
Gray's subject #242 1112
Artery lesser palatine arteries, ascending palatine artery
Nerve pharyngeal branch of vagus nerve, medial pterygoid nerve, lesser palatine nerves
MeSH Soft+Palate
Code TA A05.1.01.104
TA A05.2.01.003

The soft palate (also known as velum or muscular palate) is the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is distinguished from the hard palate at the front of the mouth in that it does not contain bone.

Contents

Function

The soft palate is movable, consisting of muscle fibers sheathed in mucous membrane. It is responsible for closing off the nasal passages during the act of swallowing, and also for closing off the airway. During sneezing, it protects the nasal passage by diverting a portion of the excreted substance to the mouth.

The uvula hangs from the end of the soft palate. Research shows that the uvula is not actually involved in snoring processes. This has been shown through inconsistent results from uvula removal surgery. Snoring is more closely associated with fat deposition in the pharynx, enlarged tonsils of Waldeyer's Ring, or deviated septum problems. Touching the uvula or the end of the soft palate evokes a strong gag reflex in most people.

Speech

A speech sound made with the middle part of the tongue (dorsum) touching the soft palate is known as a velar consonant.

It is possible for the soft palate to retract and elevate during speech to separate the oral cavity (mouth) from the nasal cavity in order to produce the oral speech sounds. If this separation is incomplete, air escapes through the nose, causing speech to be perceived as nasal.

Muscles of soft palate

Main article: Muscles of soft palate and fauces

The muscle of the soft palate play important roles in swallowing and breathing.

Pathology

Main article: Oral pathology

Pathology of the soft palate includes mucosal lesions such as pemphigus vulgaris, herpangina and migratory stomatitis,[1] and muscular conditions such as the congenital cleft palate and cleft uvula.

Additional images

  • Soft palate without tonsils (after tonsillectomy)

  • Mouth (oral cavity)

  • Mouth

  • Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx.

  • The mouth cavity. The cheeks have been slit transversely and the tongue pulled forward.

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Zadik Y, Drucker S, Pallmon S (Aug 2011). "Migratory stomatitis (ectopic geographic tongue) on the floor of the mouth" (PDF). J Am Acad Dermatol 65 (2): 459–60. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2010.04.016. PMID 21763590. http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0190-9622/PIIS0190962210004883.pdf. 
v · d · eHead and neck anatomy, digestive system: Mouth anatomy (TA A05.1–2, TH H3.04.01, GA 11.1110–2, 1125–1141)
Mouth
Oral cavity
(including
mucosa)

Lip (Upper, Lower, Vermilion border, Frenulum of lower lip, Labial commissure of mouth, Philtrum)

Cheek (Buccal fat pad)
Teeth
see tooth anatomy
dorsum (Taste bud, Median sulcus, Terminal sulcus, Foramen cecum, Lingual tonsils) · underside (Frenulum, Fimbriated fold, Sublingual caruncle) · Anterior · Posterior · Glossoepiglottic folds · Lingual septum
Oro-pharynx/
fauces

M: MOU

anat/devp

noco/cofa(c)/cogi/tumr, sysi

proc (peri), drug (A1)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Soft palate — Soft Soft (s[o^]ft; 115), a. [Compar. {Softer} (s[o^]ft [ e]r); superl. {Softest}.] [OE. softe, AS. s[=o]fte, properly adv. of s[=e]fte, adj.; akin to OS. s[=a]fto, adv., D. zacht, OHG. samfto, adv., semfti, adj., G. sanft, LG. sacht; of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • soft palate — 1> анат. мягкое небо, небная занавеска …   Новый большой англо-русский словарь

  • soft palate — мягкое нёбо …   Англо-русский словарь Мюллера

  • Soft palate — The muscular part of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is directly behind the hard palate. It lacks bone and so is soft …   Medical dictionary

  • soft palate — noun The soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth. Syn: velum, muscular palate …   Wiktionary

  • soft palate — noun Date: circa 1811 the fold at the back of the hard palate that partially separates the mouth from the pharynx …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • soft palate — n. the soft part at the rear of the roof of the mouth; velum * * * …   Universalium

  • soft palate — мягкое небо (анатомия) мягкое небо, небная занавеска …   Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь

  • soft palate — См. palato molle …   Пятиязычный словарь лингвистических терминов

  • soft palate. — See under palate (def. 1). [1805 15] * * * …   Universalium