Soft palate

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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

The soft palate (or 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.

[edit] 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, hanging from the end of the soft palate, is responsible for the sound of snoring. Touching the uvula or the end of the soft palate evokes a strong gag reflex in most people.

[edit] Speech

A speech sound made with the dorsum of the tongue 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.

[edit] Muscles of soft palate

Muscle	Action	Nerve
levator veli palatini	deglutition	Vagus nerve via pharyngeal plexus
tensor veli palatini	deglutition	mandibular nerve
palatoglossus	respiration	Vagus nerve via pharyngeal plexus
palatopharyngeus	respiration	Vagus nerve via pharyngeal plexus
musculus uvulae	moves uvula	Vagus nerve via pharyngeal plexus

[edit] 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.