Lecture 32: Pharynx & Soft Palate Flashcards
Where is the pharynx?
Base of skull to infer border of cricoid cartilage
What is pharyngobasilar fascia?
Fascia that runs between inner and outer muscle laters and covers deficient areas
What are the constrictor muscles and their attachments?
- Superior constrictor has attachments along the raphe (over top of buccinator)
- Middle constrictor attaches along the surface of the hyoid bone
- Inferior constrictor attaches to lamina of thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage
(All project posteriorly to the midline raphe)
What is cricopharynxgeus?
Infeior part of inferior constrictor (hard to separate) supplied by lower branches of vagus
What are the internal pharyngeal muscles and their attachments?
- Salpingopharyngeus – cartilaginous part of the auditory tube to the muscular wall of the pharynx
- Palatopharyngeus – soft palate to the pharynx
- Stylopharyngeus – attaches to the inside of the pharynx and the styloid process, penetrates gap between superior and inferior constrictors and becomes internalised
What happens when all of the internal pharyngeal muscles contract?
Elevate pharynx
What are the borders of the nasopharynx?
Roof - body of sphenoid
Floor - soft palate
Lateral - mucosa
Posteriorly - PB fascia and superior constrictor
What is in the roof of the nasopharynx?
Pharyngel/adenoid tonsils
What sits above the auditory tube opening?
Tubal elevation - cartilaginous part of auditory tube projecting into mucosa wall
What muscle can contract to pop the ear?
Salpingopharyngeus
What are the borders of the oropharynx?
Roof- soft palate and uvula
Floor – posterior third of tongue and epiglottis
Lateral wall – mucosa
Posterior – superior constrictor
Why is the posterior third of the tongue nodular?
Lingual tonsils sit here
What is the vallecula?
Space between posterior third of tongue and epiglottis, food comes down and sits in here to push down epiglottis and move into the posterior oesophagus
What are the actions of palatoglossus and palatopharyngeus?
Palatoglossus - elevates tongue when contracted
Palatopharyngeus - elevating pharynx or depressing soft palate
What helps the epiglottis cover the laryngeal inlet?
Epiglottis pushed down, larynx is elevated, small muscles that sit in aryepiglottic fold that help pull in the side walls of the laryngeal inlet
How does water get into the oesophagus?
Water cannot weigh down the epiglottis, moves through piriform recess (channel lateral to aryepiglottic folds) to get to oesophagus
What is the nerve supply to the pharynx?
Glossopharyngeal
Nasopharynx has additional supply from trigeminal V2 and laryngopharynx has additional supply from vagus
What forms the afferent and efferent arcs of the gag reflex?
Afferent - glosopharyngeal
Efferent - vagus
What nerve supplies the muscles of the pharynx?
Vagus (glossopharyngeal for stylopharyngeus)
What happens when you elevate and depress the soft palate?
Elevate - seals of the nasal cavity during coughing and swallowing
Depress -helps seal off the oral cavity from the pharynx during chewing to allow unimpeded breathing
What are the muscles that support the soft palate?
- Tensor veli palatini & Levator Veli Palatini come into side of soft palate from above, when contracting it pulls soft palate up (close association with auditory tube, change dimensions of tube when they contract)
- Musculus uvulae
- Palatoglossus
- Palatopharyngeus
What is fauces?
Space between palatoglossal and palatopharyngeal arches
What is Waldayers ring?
Incomplete ring of lymphoid tissue that guards the pharynx – lingual, palatine, pharyngeal and tubal tonsils. First line of defense to set up response for things entering mouth – important for developing immune system in children, may not be so important in adults
What are the stages of swallowing?
Shaping bolus, preparing bolus of food in oropharynx, pushing bolus of food through into the oesophagus, recoil of the larynx
What nerve supplies tensor veil palatini?
Trigeminal (manidbular)
