Soft palate

Soft palate
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.

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

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  Soft palate without tonsils (after tonsillectomy)

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  Mouth (oral cavity)

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  Mouth

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  Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx.

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

See also

• Hard palate
• Palate
• Tonsil
• Palatine uvula

External links

• Image at WebMD
• SUNY Figs 34:01-03 - "Diagram of the regions of the oral cavity."
• Soft+palate at eMedicine Dictionary

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.