The soft palate is a soft tissue fold of muscle, connective tissue, and mucosa that forms the process of the hard palate. Its main functions are articulation and separation of the esophagus and airway during swallowing and speech. One of the most common complaints related to the soft palate is snoring, which is particularly favored by flaccid tissues in the area of the lateral soft palate.
What is the soft palate?
The soft palate is also known by the medical term velum palatinum. Because of its consistency, it is also known as the soft palate. It is a soft and mobile continuation of the hard palate, forming a soft tissue fold of muscle tissue, mucosa and connective tissue. The soft palate assumes an oblique or vertical hanging position to the root of the tongue, thus separating the airway from the esophagus. As by the base of the tongue, the oral cavity is thus ultimately separated from the pharynx by the soft palate.
Anatomy and structure
The palatal aponeurosis forms the base of the soft palate. The palatine muscles radiate into this fibrous sheet of connective tissue, over which the soft palate predominantly moves. Incoming nerves and arteries connect the soft palate with the blood circulation and the nervous system. On the underside of the plate lies connective tissue interspersed with fine salivary glands. On both sides, two additional double folds extend from the edge of the soft palate. These double folds are also known as the palatal arch. The posterior soft palate is symmetrically double-curved at the edge. In the middle of this double arch is the uvula, which is also called the uvula. During articulation of the A vowel, the transition between the hard and soft palate appears there in the form of a boundary line, the so-called Ah line. Dentures are sized to no more than this boundary line, since the movement of the soft palate would cancel out a denture further back.
Function and tasks
The demarcation of the oral cavity from the pharynx and the associated separation of the respiratory and alimentary passages is the main function of the soft palate. During the swallowing movement, the constrictor pharyngis muscle, which opens into the soft palate, is activated. This muscle movement causes the soft palate to press against a bulge on the posterior wall of the pharynx, preventing liquids or food particles from entering the airway. If the soft palate is flaccid, this closure of the airways during swallowing is only partially achieved. A flaccid soft palate can, for example, result in frequent swallowing. The tensor and levator veli palatini muscles, which are linked to the soft palate, also perform important functions. During swallowing, but also during yawning, they provide pressure equalization in the middle ear. The second main functional area of the soft palate is articulation. Even during speech, the soft palate presses against the bulge on the back wall of the pharynx after being lifted. The sound-bearing airflow from the lungs can thus flow through the pharynx without producing oral sounds. In the case of nasal vowels, the soft palate ensures by lowering that the sound stream exits through the mouth as well as through the nose. Purely nasal sounds, on the other hand, have the tongue and the soft palate close the oral cavity completely, so that the sound stream can only exit from the nose. Flaccid soft palate muscles can also cause difficulty or inaccuracy in speech due to these articulatory functions of the soft palate. Several causes are possible for the slackening of the soft palate.
Diseases
Snoring is one of the most common complaints related to the soft palate. This phenomenon occurs especially in the case of a slackened soft palate, which is vibrated by a strong airflow during night breathing. During the night, the muscles of the pharynx that keep the airways open during the day relax. The airways thus narrowed allow the airflow to shoot through the pharynx with higher pressure during mouth breathing. This increased pressure can cause the soft palate to vibrate. In particular, vibration occurs when the lateral tissue of the soft palate is flaccid. Pathological snoring causes fatigue and headaches during the day. In such a case, the sagging tissue can be surgically removed from the soft palate.The breathing space is thus expanded and the air pressure reduced so that the soft palate no longer vibrates. A slackened soft palate may also be associated with pharyngitis. Such an inflammation is additionally usually accompanied by a thickened uvula and pain. In the case of inflammatory manifestations of the soft palate, the doctor sometimes treats with the administration of antibiotics. Inflammations of the oral mucosa particularly often spread to the soft palate. In addition to inflammations, the soft palate is also frequently affected by embryonic malformations. The malformation of the cleft lip and palate is particularly common and is favored by malnutrition during pregnancy. Those affected by this condition have problems with both food intake and articulation. However, slight malformations can be corrected surgically. Pain in the mouth area accompanied by speech problems and bad breath, on the other hand, may be related to oral cancer. Cancers of the oral cavity are most common in men over 50 and often involve the soft palate. In the treatment of soft palate cancer, as with all other forms of cancer, chemotherapy is often indicated.
