Soft palate

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Overview

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
MeSH	Soft+Palate
Dorlands/Elsevier	p_02/12607540

WikiDoc Resources for Soft palate
Articles
Most recent articles on Soft palate Most cited articles on Soft palate Review articles on Soft palate Articles on Soft palate in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Soft palate Images of Soft palate Photos of Soft palate Podcasts & MP3s on Soft palate Videos on Soft palate
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Soft palate Bandolier on Soft palate TRIP on Soft palate
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Soft palate at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Soft palate Clinical Trials on Soft palate at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Soft palate NICE Guidance on Soft palate NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Soft palate CDC on Soft palate
Books
Books on Soft palate
News
Soft palate in the news Be alerted to news on Soft palate News trends on Soft palate
Commentary
Blogs on Soft palate
Definitions
Definitions of Soft palate
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Soft palate Discussion groups on Soft palate Patient Handouts on Soft palate Directions to Hospitals Treating Soft palate Risk calculators and risk factors for Soft palate
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Soft palate Causes & Risk Factors for Soft palate Diagnostic studies for Soft palate Treatment of Soft palate
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Soft palate
International
Soft palate en Espanol Soft palate en Francais
Businness
Soft palate in the Marketplace Patents on Soft palate
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to 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.

Function

It is movable, consisting of muscle fibers sheathed in mucous membrane, and is responsible for closing off the nasal passages during the act of swallowing.

The soft palate's motion during breathing is responsible for the sound of snoring. Touching the soft palate evokes a strong gag response in most people.

The soft palate also functions during speech to separate the oral cavity (mouth) from the nose, in order to produce the oral speech sounds. If this separation is incomplete, air escapes through the nose during speech and the speech is perceived as hypernasal.

Muscles of soft palate

Muscle	Action	Nerve
levator veli palatini	deglutition	vagus
tensor veli palatini	deglutition	mandibular nerve
palatoglossus	respiration	vagus
palatopharyngeus	respiration	vagus
musculus uvulae	moves uvula	vagus

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.

See also

• Hard palate
• Palate
• Tonsil
• Palatine uvula

External links

• DEN4 at FPnotebook
• Image at WebMD
• SUNY Figs 34:01-03 - "Diagram of the regions of the oral cavity."
• Soft+palate at eMedicine Dictionary

v • d • e WikiDoc Research Resources for Soft palate (Click show to right to view)
Articles on Soft palate	Most recent articles on Soft palate • Most cited articles on Soft palate • Review articles on Soft palate • Articles on Soft palate in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media (Slides, Video, Images, MP3) on Soft palate	Powerpoint slides on Soft palate • Images of Soft palate • Photos of Soft palate • Podcasts & MP3s on Soft palate • Videos on Soft palate
Evidence Based Medicine Regarding Soft palate	Cochrane Collaboration on Soft palate • Bandolier on Soft palate • TRIP on Soft palate
Cost Effectiveness of Soft palate	Cost Effectiveness of Soft palate
Clinical Trials Involving Soft palate	Ongoing Trials on Soft palate at Clinical Trials.gov • Trial results on Soft palate • Clinical Trials on Soft palate at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Government Resources (FDA/CDC) Regarding Soft palate	US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Soft palate • NICE Guidance on Soft palate • NHS PRODIGY Guidance • FDA on Soft palate • CDC on Soft palate
Textbook Information on Soft palate	Books and Textbook Information on Soft palate
Pharmacology Resources on Soft palate	Dosing of Soft palate • Drug interactions with Soft palate • Side effects of Soft palate • Allergic reactions to Soft palate • Overdose information on Soft palate • Carcinogenicity information on Soft palate • Soft palate in pregnancy • Pharmacokinetics of Soft palate •
Genetics, Pharmacogenomics, and Proteinomics of Soft palate	Genetics of Soft palate • Pharmacogenomics of Soft palate • Proteomics of Soft palate
Newstories on Soft palate	Soft palate in the news • Be alerted to news on Soft palate • News trends on Soft palate
Commentary on Soft palate	Blogs on Soft palate
Patient Resources on Soft palate	Patient resources on Soft palate • Discussion groups on Soft palate • Patient Handouts on Soft palate • Directions to Hospitals Treating Soft palate • Risk calculators and risk factors for Soft palate
Healthcare Provider Resources on Soft palate	Symptoms of Soft palate • Causes & Risk Factors for Soft palate • Diagnostic studies for Soft palate • Treatment of Soft palate
Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programs on Soft palate	CME Programs on Soft palate
International Resources on Soft palate	Soft palate en Espanol • Soft palate en Francais
Business Resources on Soft palate	Soft palate in the Marketplace • Patents on Soft palate
Informatics Resources on Soft palate	List of terms related to Soft palate

v • d • e General anatomy of head and neck - head
Face/Occiput	Forehead • Eye • Ear • Temple • Cheek • Chin
External nose	Nostril • Nasal septum • Cartilages (Accessory nasal, of the septum, Greater alar, Lateral nasal, Lesser alar, Vomeronasal)  • Olfactory glands
Nasal cavity	Choana • Turbinate • Sphenoethmoidal recess • Ethmoid bulla • Hiatus semilunaris • Ostium maxillare • Inferior meatus • Vomeronasal organ • Paranasal sinus
Mouth/oral cavity	Lip • Philtrum • Jaw • Pterygomandibular raphe
Teeth	Permanent (Incisor, Canine, Premolar, Molar)  • Deciduous
Tongue	Plica fimbriata • Median sulcus • Foramen cecum • Terminal sulcus • Frenulum linguae • Anterior tongue • Posterior tongue
Palate/roof of mouth	Hard palate • Soft palate • Palatine raphe • Incisive papilla • Uvula • Pharyngeal recess • Arches (Palatoglossal, Palatopharyngeal)
Salivary glands	Parotid gland/Parotid duct • Submandibular gland/Submandibular duct • Sublingual gland/Major sublingual duct
Other	fascia (Masseteric fascia, Temporal fascia, Galea aponeurotica) • Scalp

de:Gaumensegel fr:Voile du palais he:וילון (אנטומיה) ko:연구개sv:Mjuka gommen

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Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .