The palate

Question 1

what is the hard palate made of?

Answer 1

skeletal muscle

Question 2

what is the soft palate made of?

Answer 2

skeletal muscle covered in oral mucosa

Question 3

what 4 bones make up the hard palate?

Answer 3

• right and left maxilla

- right and left palatine bone

Question 4

what makes up the horizontal plate?

Answer 4

palatine bones

Question 5

what makes up the pyramidal process?

Answer 5

palatine bones heading back towards the pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone

Question 6

what passes through the greater palatine foreman and what does it supply?

Answer 6

greater palatine NVB to supply hard palate

Question 7

what passes through the lesser palatine foreman and what does it supply?

Answer 7

lesser palatine NVB to supply the soft palate

Question 8

what structure sits at the anterior edge of the hard palate?

Answer 8

incisive canal

Question 9

what makes up the lateral wall of the hard palate?

Answer 9

• medial pterygoid plate of sphenoid bone
• pterygoid hamulus
• palatine bone
• palatine process of maxilla

Question 10

what makes up the medial wall of the hard palate?

Answer 10

nasal cavity

Question 11

what epithelium covers the hard palate?

Answer 11

keratinised stratified squamous epithelium

Question 12

what epithelium covers the soft palate?

Answer 12

non-keratinised stratified squamous epithelium

Question 13

what sits under the incisive canal and what runs through it?

Answer 13

Incisive papilla where the nasopalatine nerve goes through it

Question 14

what is the function of palatal rugae?

Answer 14

helps with mechanical breakdown of food

Question 15

what is the palatine raphe?

Answer 15

fusion of palatal shelves

Question 16

what causes cleft palate?

Answer 16

due to failure of lateral palatine processes to meet and fuse

Question 17

what are the complications of cleft palate?

Answer 17

• speech
• dental health
• feeding
• hearing

Question 18

what are the nerves and vessels of palate?

Answer 18

• nasopalatine nerve (V2)
• greater and lesser palatine arteries
• greater and lesser palatine nerves (see photo)

Question 19

what supplies the palatal gingivae of anterior teeth & mucosa of the anterior palate?

Answer 19

branch of nasopalatine nerve - passes through incisive foramen

Question 20

what is the somatic sensory nerve supply to the anterior edge of the hard palate?

Answer 20

incisive branch of nasopalatine

Question 21

what is the lymphatic drainage of the anterior hard palate?

Answer 21

submandibular nodes > deep cervical nodes >thoracic duct

Question 22

what is the lymphatic drainage of the posterior hard palate and soft palate?

Answer 22

retropharyngeal nodes >deep cervical nodes (however some drain straight into the deep cervical nodes)

Question 23

what drains the palatine tonsil?

Answer 23

jugulo-diagastric node

Question 24

what is the uvula made of?

Answer 24

2 underlying skeletal muscles - right and left musculus uvulae

Question 25

what arch runs anterior to the tonsil and what direction does it run?

Answer 25

palatoglossal arch - runs from soft palate and inserts onto the side of the tongue

Question 26

what arch runs posterior to the tonsil and what direction does it run?

Answer 26

palatopharyngeal arch-runs from soft palate into oral pharynx

Question 27

what do the two arches make?

Answer 27

tonsiler cript

Question 28

what are the 5 pairs of muscles of the soft palate and what are their functions?

Answer 28

• levator veli palatini (elevates palate)
• tensor veli palatini (tenses palate)
• musculus uvulae
• palatoglossus (palate towards tongue)
• palatopharyngeus (a longitudinal muscle of the pharynx)

Question 29

what are most of the muscles of the soft palate supplied by?

Answer 29

the vagus nerve

Question 30

what muscle is not supplied by vagus and what is it supplied by?

Answer 30

tensor veli palatini- (CN V3)

Question 31

Describe the palatine aponeurosis?

Answer 31

• tensor veli palatini
• attaches superiorly to the sphenoid bone
• its tendon turns medially around the pterygoid hamulus & enters the soft palate
• its tendon then flattens out within the soft palate & joins with the tendon of the opposite muscle to form the palatine aponeurosis

Question 32

where does the levator veli palatini run?

Answer 32

from petrous temporal bone to soft palate

Question 33

where does sapinopharyngeus run?

Answer 33

auditory tube to pharynx

Question 34

where does the palatopharyngeus run?

Answer 34

soft palate to pharynx posterior to palatoglossus

Question 35

what is the clinical testing for tonsils?

Answer 35

say “ahhh”

Question 36

what should happen if the nerves are functioning normally?

Answer 36

uvula should lift straight up in the midline

Question 37

what if the nerves are not functioning properly?

Answer 37

if there is unilateral nerve pathology the uvula will be pulled away from the non-functioning side by the normal side

Question 38

what are the functions of the soft palate?

Answer 38

Functions as a “trapdoor”:

• stops food entering the nose during swallowing
• directs air into the nose or the mouth during speech, sneezing, coughing & vomiting
• helps to close off the entrance into the oropharynx during the gag reflex