Soft Palate: Anatomical Diagram, Function, And Injuries

Soft Palate: Anatomical Diagram, Function, And Injuries

Describe the soft palate in brief.
Answer.

It is a movable, muscular flap suspended from the posterior border of the hard palate. It separates the nasopharynx from the oropharynx.

Muscles of the soft palate Palate has five pairs of muscles:

1. Tensor palati
2. Levator palate
3. Musculus uvulae
4. Palatoglossus
5. Palatopharyngeus

Muscles of the soft palate Nerve supply All the muscles of the palate are supplied by the cranial root of the accessory nerve (CN 11) via pharyngeal plexus, except the tensor palate which is supplied by the mandibular nerve (through nerve to medial pterygoid).

Hard Soft Palate

Muscles of soft palate Applied anatomy The paralysis of the soft palate leads to:

• Nasal regurgitation of food
• Nasal twang of voice
• Flattening of the palatal arch on the side of the lesion
• Deviation of uvula opposite to the side of lesion