The Palate Flashcards
What is the soft palate?
soft tissue that forms the roof of the mouth
What are the 4 bones of the hard palate?
- right and left maxilla
- right and left palatine bones
What suture runs down the middle of the hard palate?
Median palatine suture
What are the 2 plates of the sphenoid bone?
lateral and medial pterygoid plates
What lies behind tooth 8?
maxillary tuberosity
What foramen are present in the hard palate?
- incisive canal
- palatine foramina (greater and lesser)
What nerves run through the palatine foramina?
branches of CN V2
What type of epithelium makes the hard palate?
keratinised stratified squamous
What epithelium makes the soft palate?
non-keratinised stratified squamous
What is the mound of mucosa that overlies the incisive canal?
incisive papilla
What is the function of palatal rugae?
mechanical breakdown of food
What fuses the palatal shelves?
midline palatine raphe
What are present in palatal mucosa?
palatine glands
What is the cause of cleft palate?
defect with the formation of the soft palate - lateral palatine processes fail to fuse
What does cleft palate result in?
no hard palate so can see up to nasal cavity
What are 4 complications of cleft palate?
- speech
- dental health
- feeding
- hearing
What arteries supply the palate?
Greater and lesser palatine arteries
What nerves supply the palate?
- nasopalatine
- greater and lesser palatine
What do the nerves of the palate form?
pterygopalatine ganglion
What node drains the palatine tonsil?
Jugulo-digastric
What 4 sets of lymph nodes drain the palate?
- retropharyngeal
- jugulo-digastric
- submandibular
- deep cervical
What are the 5 pairs of muscles of the soft palate?
- levator veli palatini
- tensor veli palatini
- musculus uvulae
- palatoglossus
- palatopharyngeal
What supplies the muscles of the soft palate?
Vagus nerve CN X + Spinal Accessory nerve CN XI
EXCEPT tensor veli palatini (CN V3)
What forms the palatine aponeurosis?
tendons of the tensor veli palatini
Where does the tensor veli palatini attach?
superiorly to the sphenoid bone
What does the tendon of the tensor veli palatini turn around ?
pterygoid hamulus
What is the anatomical name of the auditory tube?
Eustachian tube
What bone attaches the levator veli palatini?
petrous temporal bone
How do you clinically test the vagus nerve?
say “Ahh”
if nerves are functioning the uvula should lift straight up the midline
If nerve pathology, the uvula will pull away from the non-functioning side
What are the 3 functions of the soft palate as a trapdoor?
- stops food entering nose during swallowing
- directs air into nose or mouth during speech, sneezing, coughing and vomiting
- closes off entrance into oropharynx during gag reflex
