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The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is the hard palate .
The palate (/ ˈ p æ l ɪ t /) is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity . [ 1 ] A similar structure is found in crocodilians , but in most other tetrapods , the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separated.
While swallowing, the soft palate is pushed backwards, preventing food and drink from entering the nasal cavity. If the soft palate cannot touch the back of the throat while swallowing, food and drink can enter the nasal cavity. [6] Splitting of the uvula occurs infrequently but is the most common form of mouth and nose area cleavage among ...
The soft palate is in these cases cleft as well. In most cases, cleft lip is also present. Palate cleft can occur as complete (soft and hard palate, possibly including a gap in the jaw) or incomplete (a 'hole' in the roof of the mouth, usually as a cleft soft palate). When cleft palate occurs, the uvula is usually split.
Velopharyngeal insufficiency is a disorder of structure that causes a failure of the velum (soft palate) to close against the posterior pharyngeal wall (back wall of the throat) during speech in order to close off the nasal cavity during oral speech production.
The soft palate is tensed by tensor palatini (Vc), and then elevated by levator palatini (pharyngeal plexus—IX, X) to close the nasopharynx. There is also the simultaneous approximation of the walls of the pharynx to the posterior free border of the soft palate, which is carried out by the palatopharyngeus (pharyngeal plexus—IX, X) and the ...
The gag reflex involves a brisk and brief elevation of the soft palate and bilateral contraction of pharyngeal muscles evoked by touching the posterior pharyngeal wall. Touching the soft palate can lead to a similar reflex response. However, in that case, the sensory limb of the reflex is the CN V (trigeminal nerve). In very sensitive ...
Normal velar consonants are dorso-velar: The dorsum (body) of the tongue rises to contact the velum (soft palate) of the roof of the mouth. In disordered speech there are also velo-dorsal stops, with the opposite articulation: The velum lowers to contact the tongue, which remains static.