The palatine aponeurosis a thin, firm, fibrous lamella which gives strength and support to

soft palate The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft biological tissue, tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is ...

. It serves as the insertion for the

tensor veli palatini The tensor veli palatini muscle (tensor palati or tensor muscle of the velum palatinum) is a thin, triangular muscle of the head that tenses the soft palate and opens the Eustachian tube to equalise pressure in the middle ear. Structure The te ...

and levator veli palatini, and the origin for the

musculus uvulae The musculus uvulae (also muscle of uvula, uvular muscle, or palatouvularis muscle) is a bilaterally muscle of the soft palate (one of five such muscles) that acts to shorten the uvula when both muscles contract. It forms most of the mass of the u ...

, palatopharyngeus, and palatoglossus. The palatine aponeurosis is attached to the posterior margin of the

hard palate The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate made up of two bones of the facial skeleton, located in the roof of the mouth. The bones are the palatine process of the maxilla and the horizontal plate of palatine bone. The hard palate spans ...

. It is thicker anteriorly and thiner posteriorly. Posteriorly, it blends with the posterior muscular part of the soft palate. Posteroinferiorly, it presents a cruved free margin from which the

uvula The uvula (: uvulas or uvulae), also known as the palatine uvula or staphyle, is a conic projection from the back edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fi ...

is suspended. Laterally, it is continuous with the pharyngeal aponeurosis.

References

Human head and neck {{musculoskeletal-stub

See also

References