The soft palate is located at the back of the hard palate, belonging to the posterior 1/3 of the posterior wall of the oral cavity, and consists mainly of muscles as well as mucous membranes that form the pharyngeal wall, which plays a major role in speech, swallowing, and respiratory function.
The mucous membrane in front of the soft palate is connected with the hard palate, rich in mucous glands, and the deep surface is the palatal tendon membrane and palatal muscles, the palatal tendon membrane is attached to the back edge of the hard palate in the first 1/3, and the palatal muscles are located in the back 2/3 of the soft palate, the palatine muscles and pharyngeal muscles are coordinated to control the palatopharyngeal closure, which further plays a corresponding role to the function of speech, swallowing and respiration.
The soft palate is a mucosal fold that participates in the formation of the oral and pharyngeal cavities and contains glands, blood vessels, and nerves, and houses tonsils on both sides that participate in the formation of the pharyngeal lymphatic ring.
Abnormalities of the soft palate can affect the entire pharynx and require standardized management under the supervision of a clinician.