Soft palate

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Soft palate

The soft palate (or velum, or muscular palate) is the soft tissueBiological tissue

Biological tissue is a collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism....
constituting the back of the roof of the mouthMouth

The mouth, also known as the buccal cavity or the oral cavity, is the opening through which an animal takes in f...
. The soft palate is distinguished from the hard palateHard palate

The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate of the skull, located in the roof of the mouth....
at the front of the mouth in that it does not contain bone.

Function

It is movable, consisting of muscleMuscle

Muscle is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells....
fibers sheathed in mucous membraneMucous membrane

The mucous membranes are linings of ectodermic origin, covered in epithelium, and are involved in absorption and secretion....
, and is responsible for closing off the nasal passagesRespiratory system

The respiratory system is an organ system which is used for gas exchange....
during the act of swallowingSwallowing

Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the reflex in the human body that makes something pass from the mout...
. and is responsible for closing off the respiratory system.

The soft palate's motion during breathing is responsible for the sound of snoringSnoring

Snoring is the act of breathing through the open mouth in such a way as to cause a vibration of the uvula and soft palate, t...
. Touching the soft palate evokes a strong gag reflexGag Reflex

Gag Reflex is a sketch comedy collective with ensembles near Chicago, Illinois and Austin, Texas....
in most people.

The soft palate retracts and elevates 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 the speech to be perceived as hyper nasal.
While sneezing it protects nasal passage by diverting a part of substance to be thrown out to mouth.

Muscles of soft palate

Muscle	Action	Nerve >- \| levator veli palatiniLevator veli palatini The levator veli palatini is a muscle of the human body....	deglutition	Vagus nerveVagus nerve The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem and exten... via pharyngeal plexus \|- \| tensor veli palatini	deglutition	mandibular nerveMandibular nerve The mandibular nerve is the largest of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve.... \|- \| palatoglossus	respirationRespiration (physiology) Respiration is the process by which an organism obtains energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to give water, carbon dioxide...	Vagus nerveVagus nerve The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem and exten... via pharyngeal plexus \|- \| palatopharyngeus	respirationRespiration (physiology) Respiration is the process by which an organism obtains energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to give water, carbon dioxide...	Vagus nerveVagus nerve The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem and exten... via pharyngeal plexus \|- \| musculus uvulaeMusculus uvulae The Musculus uvulæ arises from the posterior nasal spine of the palatine bones and from the palatine aponeurosis; it descend...	moves uvula	Vagus nerveVagus nerve The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem and exten... via pharyngeal plexus

Additional images

External links

- "Diagram of the regions of the oral cavity."

Soft palate

Function

Muscles of soft palate

Additional images

See also

External links