Soft palate
Soft palate | |
---|---|
lesser palatine nerves, glossopharyngeal nerve[1] | |
Identifiers | |
Latin | palatum molle, velum palatinum |
MeSH | D010160 |
TA98 | A05.1.01.104 A05.2.01.003 |
TA2 | 2780 |
FMA | 55021 |
Anatomical terminology] |
The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in
Structure
Muscles
The five muscles of the soft palate play important roles in swallowing and breathing. The muscles are:
- Tensor veli palatini, which is involved in swallowing
- Palatoglossus, involved in swallowing
- Palatopharyngeus, involved in breathing
- Levator veli palatini, involved in swallowing
- uvula
These muscles are innervated by the
Function
The soft palate is moveable, 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.
In
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.
Modelling
This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. (August 2023) |
Within the microstructure of the soft palate lie a variety of variably-oriented fibers that create a nonuniform surface with a nonuniform density distribution. The tissue has been characterized as viscoelastic, nonlinear, and anisotropic in the direction of the fibers.
Quantitative analyses have been done on bilateral and unilateral cleft palate to better understand geometric differences in cleft palate throughout the course of its development and correction.[4] Despite the difficulty in finding common, comparable landmarks between normal soft palates and cleft palates, analytical methods have been devised to assess differences in degree of curvature of the alveolar crest, two-dimensional and three-dimensional surface area, and slope of the alveolar crest.
Finite element analysis has demonstrated effective modeling of soft-palate extension and movement. It has also been an effective tool for evaluating the craniofacial effects of corrective orthopedic devices and cleft lip.
Clinical significance
Disease
Pathology of the soft palate includes
Additional images
-
Soft palate without tonsils (after tonsillectomy)
-
Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx.
-
The mouth cavity. The cheeks have been slit transversely and the tongue pulled forward.
-
Lateral wall of nasal cavity. (Soft palate visible in lower right)
See also
References
- ISBN 9780409900774. Archivedfrom the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
- ISBN 978-0-8089-2306-0.
- S2CID 24414466.
- PMID 4524356.
- PMID 21763590.
- ^ Fact Sheet: Tonsillitis Archived 2011-11-26 at the Wayback Machine from American Academy of Otolaryngology. "Updated 1/11". Retrieved November 2011
- PMID 17137534.
- ISBN 978-1-55009-186-1.
External links
- Image at WebMD
- Anatomy figure: 34:01-03 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Diagram of the regions of the oral cavity."