Tensor veli palatini.Levator veli palatini.Uvular muscle (musculus uvulae)Palatoglossus.Palatopharyngeus.Superior constrictor.

What closes the Velopharyngeal port?

The velopharyngeal port or velopharyngeal sphincter is the passage between the nasopharynx and the oropharynx. It is closed off by the soft palate and uvula against the rear pharyngeal wall during swallowing to prevent food and water from entering the nasal passages.

What is the Velopharyngeal port quizlet?

Velopharyngeal port is the space between velum(soft palate) and pharyngeal wall. The VP port closes during vegetative acts such as swallowing, gagging, blowing and sucking, and speech acts such as the production of non-nasal sounds.

Which muscle spreads the velum laterally to help close the Velopharyngeal port?

The palatoglossus and palatopharyngeus muscles pull the palate down, opposing the LVP. The action of the palatopharyngeus muscle tends to stretch the velum laterally, thereby increasing the velar area and altering the shape of the contact.

What muscle makes up the uvula?

The musculus uvulae muscle derives from the palatine aponeurosis and the posterior nasal spine and attaches to the mucous membrane of the uvula. The musculus uvulae muscle functions to shorten the uvula. Ipsilateral contraction of the musculus uvulae muscle draws up the uvula on the same side.

Which articulator controls the opening and closing of the Velopharyngeal port?

The velum has long been considered as having two main functions in speech production: to open and close the velopharyngeal port, and to provide a passive or static surface in the oral tract against which the tongue can contract to produce oral constrictions (Catford, 1977. Catford, J. C. (1977).

What muscles elevate the velum?

The function of the levator veli palatini muscle is to retract and elevate the velum. As this muscle contracts during speech, it pulls the velum up at a 45-degree angle to close against the posterior pharyngeal wall.

What is Velopharyngeal closure?

Velopharyngeal closure (VPC) is an important part of speech. … If VPC is inadequate, air is allowed to escape through the nose during the generation of consonants requiring high oral pressure, leading to inappropriate nasal resonance during speech production.

Which muscle closes off airflow to the nasal cavity?

The palate separates the oral and nasal cavities; the posterior part, the velum or soft palate, contains muscle and glands that together with the lateral and posterior pharyngeal walls, form the anatomical velopharyngeal sphincter, closing off the nasal cavity from the oropharynx during swallowing, blowing, sucking, …

What is the Velopharyngeal port made of?

The velopharyngeal valve consists of the following structures: Velum (soft palate) Lateral pharyngeal walls − side walls of the throat. Posterior pharyngeal wall − the back wall of the throat.

Article first time published on

What happens when the Velopharyngeal port Cannot close during the production of non nasal sounds?

If complete closure does not occur during speech, this can cause hypernasality (a resonance disorder) and/or audible nasal emission during speech (a speech sound disorder). In addition, there may be inadequate airflow to produce most consonants, making them sound weak or omitted.

Which muscle originates at the posterior thyroid cartilage and pharyngeal walls courses upward and inserts into the palatal raphe?

OriginsThyropharyngeal part: Oblique line of thyroid cartilage Cricopharyngeal part: Cricoid cartilageInsertionsThyropharyngeal part: Median pharyngeal raphe Cricopharyngeal part: Blends inferiorly with circular esophageal fibres

What are the pharyngeal muscles?

The pharyngeal muscles are a group of muscles that form the pharynx, which is posterior to the oral cavity, determining the shape of its lumen, and affecting its sound properties as the primary resonating cavity. The pharyngeal muscles (involuntary skeletal) push food into the esophagus.

Which muscle of the pharynx originates from the horns of the hyoid bone?

Locate the medial constrictor muscle. It arises from the horns of the hyoid bone and attaches to the median raphe of the superior constrictor muscle. The medial and inferior constrictor muscles are divided by the thyrohyoid membrane, which is attached to the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone.

Which muscle forms part of the posterior wall of the oropharynx?

The muscles that form the posterior wall of the oropharynx are the overlapping superior and middle pharyngeal constrictors and their overlying mucous membrane. The glossopharyngeal nerve and the stylopharyngeus muscle enter the pharynx at the border between the superior and middle constrictors.

What cranial nerve controls the velopharyngeal port?

The present study attempted to clarify the motor nerve supply of the velopharyngeal muscles. Experiments were carried out on 20 anesthetized rhesus monkeys.

What is the velopharyngeal sphincter?

A group of muscles attached to the SOFT PALATE (or velum) and the PHARYNX. They include the superior constrictor, the PALATOPHARYNGEUS, the levator veli palatini muscle, and the muscularis uvulae. This sphincter is situated between the oral and nasal cavities.

Which of the following muscles controls medial movement of the lateral pharyngeal wall?

The results indicate that the medial movement of the lateral pharyngeal wall results from the contraction of the levator.

What causes nasal cul-de-sac resonance?

Enlarged tonsils or adenoids are often the cause. Cul-de-sac resonance occurs when sound resonates in the throat or nose, and is trapped in that area with no outlet. The speech may sound muffled as a result. It may also seem as if the child is “mumbling” or not speaking up.

What is the pharyngeal cavity?

: the cavity of the pharynx that consists of a part continuous anteriorly with the nasal cavity by way of the nasopharynx, a part opening into the oral cavity by way of the isthmus of the fauces, and a part continuous posteriorly with the esophagus and opening into the larynx by way of the epiglottis.

What closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing?

The soft palate has an important role in speech and swallowing. It closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing to prevent nasal reflux and during phonation to produce certain sounds.

What muscle ensures that the closed velum is tightly closed?

The levator veli palatini (levator) muscle is considered to be the primary muscle responsible for velar elevation. As its name implies, it functions to elevate the velum to create closure between the oral and nasal cavities (Moon and Kuehn, 2004).

What is velopharyngeal closure in swallowing?

Velopharyngeal closure plays an important role in preventing air pressure leakage during swallowing and phonation from oropharynx to nasopharynx. Levator veli palatini muscle activity is influenced by oral and nasal air pressure, volume of the swallow bolus and postural changes.

What is a pharyngeal flap used for?

Pharyngeal flap surgery is done to treat VPI (velopharyngeal insufficiency), a condition of slight difficulty in breathing, or a nasal sound while speaking.

What sounds does Velopharyngeal insufficiency affect?

When a child has VPI, the pressure consonants may sound weak or muffled. As air escapes through the nose, it may sound like puffs, squeaks or snorts.

What is velar insufficiency?

Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is when the soft palate does not close tightly against the back of the throat, leading to air coming out the nose (characterized by hypernasality and/or nasal air emission) during speech. This can cause speech that is difficult to understand.

What is the difference between Velopharyngeal insufficiency and incompetence?

It is used to describe different disorders of the velopharyngeal valve. These include: Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), which is due to abnormal structure. Velopharyngeal incompetence (VPI), which is due to abnormal movement.

What opens to the pharynx?

The opening of the mouth into the pharynx is the oropharynx, and the nasal opening is the nasopharynx. The eustachian tube from the middle ear (see Chapter 10, p. 167) opens into the pharynx on each side.

What is the role of the constrictor muscles of the pharynx?

By sequential contraction, the pharyngeal constrictor muscles create a peristaltic wave that facilitates passage of the food bolus inferiorly, from the pharynx towards the esophagus, during the act of deglutition.

How many muscles are involved in positioning the velum?

The two main muscles that assist in opening the velum are the palatoglossus and the palatopharyngeus muscles.

Does pharynx have submucosa?

Oral Pharynx. The oral pharynx is lined by a stratified squamous non-keratinizing type of epithelium and lacks both muscularis mucosae and submucosa. The epithelium rests on a lamina propria that contains a thick layer of longitudinally oriented elastic fibers (a useful diagnostic feature).