ENTRIES A–Z
Philip Winn in Dictionary of Biological Psychology, 2003
The term MOUTH (or oral cavity) barely requires definition, but it is important to recognize the several different parts in and around the mouth. The PALATE is the roof of the mouth and is divided into the soft palate (at the rear) and the hard palate (at the front). The OROPHARYNX is that part of the mouth between the soft palate and the EPIGLOTTIS. Receptors in the oropharynx are important in signalling information about the foods and fluids present in the mouth to the brain. Behind the oropharynx is the PHARYNX—which is what, in everyday language, one would call the throat. It is obviously involved in the mechanics of swallowing food and water but, unlike the oropharynx, is not involved in detecting the composition of foods and fluids. The pharynx leads to both the TRACHEA (the windpipe) and the OESOPHAGOUS (esophagus in American spelling) The epiglottis is the flap of cartilage that covers the GLOTTIS—which is the opening to the LARYNX and the TRACHEA. The larynx is the upper part of the windpipe and is important in SPEECH PRODUCTION; the trachea connects to the bronchi in the lungs. The epiglottis functions to guard the trachea during swallowing of food, which is of course destined to travel down the oesophagous to the STOMACH.
Head and Neck
Rui Diogo, Drew M. Noden, Christopher M. Smith, Julia Molnar, Julia C. Boughner, Claudia Barrocas, Joana Bruno in Understanding Human Anatomy and Pathology, 2018
The hard palate is a conglomerate of many structures making up the roof of the oral cavity and these structures also seamlessly contribute to nearby regions. These include the incisive foramen located just posterior to the incisors teeth, alveolar processes superior and adjacent to the teeth and palatine process of the maxilla, the horizontal plate, perpendicular plate, greater palatine foramen, and lesser palatine foramen of the palatine bone, located posterior to the maxilla and the hamulus of the medial plate of the pterygoid process, the lateral plate of the pterygoid process, the scaphoid fossa, and the pterygoid canal of the sphenoid bone located superior and slightly posterior to the maxilla and palatine bones (Plate 3.9). As you can see, the hard palate is made up of many bony parts. The hard palate is also the structure typically subject to facial clefting birth defects (see Branchial arches at the beginning of Chapter 3).
Case 111
Vincent J Palusci, Dena Nazer, Patricia O Brennan in Diagnosis of Non-accidental Injury, 2015
This 8-year-old boy was undergoing orthodontia with a palatal expander. He came in with the expander broken and the ecchymosis shown. There was no history of thumb sucking, falling with something in his mouth or other accidental trauma. There was no disclosure of abuse, but the examining dentist was concerned about possible sexual assault and collected specimens for pharyngeal gonorrhea. What does Image 111a show?What is the possible aetiology of these injuries?A large bruise is noted over the hard palate in a pattern similar to the plastic frame of the expander. No active bleeding is noted. The shape of a similar expander is shown in a child without a bruise (Image 111b).Any palatal bruising should be viewed with suspicion. Palatal expansion is used to correct cross bites and to relieve crowding in the maxillary arch. While petechial hemorrhages of the soft palate have been noted in fellatio,1 the palatal inflammation is located under the palatal acrylic strap that fractured, most likely during the assault. The child firmly denied being assaulted, and it was only because of his being positive for oral gonorrhea that sexual assault was confirmed.
Norrie disease with a spontaneously shrinking choroid plexus abnormality: a case report
Published in Ophthalmic Genetics, 2021
Subhi Talal Younes, James Mason Shiflett, Kristin Weaver, Andrew Smith, Betty Herrington, Charlotte Taylor, Kartik Reddy
At 9 months of age, the patient was seen by pediatric neurosurgery for evaluation of this mass. No neurologic symptoms were noted by the parents. At that time, he did not have evidence of seizures, headaches, or recurrent episodes of emesis. He was meeting developmental milestones appropriately including sitting up, imitating speech sounds, transferring objects, and rolling over (note that the patient would go on to develop speech and gross motor delay which are being treated with speech and physical therapy). A hearing evaluation was normal. On physical exam, the patient preferred to keep his eyes closed. The cornea was clouded, restricting any pupillary or visual acuity exam. Otherwise, there were no significant neurologic findings. The anterior fontanelle was soft and flat. The patient’s face and facial expressions were symmetric. The palate elevated symmetrically, and the tongue protruded in midline. The patient moved all of his extremities well with normal bulk and tone, both spontaneously and in reaction to touch. The reflexes were symmetric without any pathologic reflexes present.
Extracellular Matrix Remodeling During Palate Development
Published in Organogenesis, 2020
Xia Wang, Chunman Li, Zeyao Zhu, Li Yuan, Wood Yee Chan, Ou Sha
The morphogenesis of the mammalian secondary palate begins with the outgrow of two palatal shelves from the maxillary processes on both sides of the tongue on an embryonic day (E) 12.1 The two vertically oriented palatal shelves soon elevate horizontally and opposite each other on E 14–15.1 Then, the palatal shelves epithelia disintegrate in the midline and their mesenchymal compartment fuse completely to form an intact palatal roof.1 Cells in the palatal shelves originate from three sources of embryonic tissue/structures: the superficial palatal epithelium is derived from the embryonic ectoderm, the underlying palatal mesenchyme mainly from the neural crest.1,2 Supporting these cells is the infrastructure composed by complex extracellular matrix network.
The electronic tongue: an advanced taste-sensing multichannel sensory tool with global selectivity for application in the pharmaceutical and food industry
Published in Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 2023
Majid Imam, Kalpana Nagpal
These software’s assists the user in describing data and looking for a correlation or relationship between one or more variables and provides a graphical point-and-click user interface for non-technical users. They use a suitable method of pattern recognition and multivariate calibration. The sensor data is converted into taste patterns. As a result, the taste and flavour components of the human palate can be detected. Additionally, it can assess the quantitative content and distinguish between different types of tastes or flavours. They are commonly used in food analysis and the pharmaceutical industry, to classify and analyze the tastes of multicomponent combinations (Paup et al. 2019; Gharibzahedi et al. 2022). It has several benefits, including quick analysis times, cheap cost per analysis, ease of construction, and non-destructive nature. It can also be automated and miniaturized for real-time analysis (Ghasemi-Varnamkhasti et al. 2018).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Maxillary Nerve
- Mouth
- Palatine Bone
- Soft Palate
- Trigeminal Nerve
- Hard Palate
- Nasal Cavity
- Cutaneous Innervation
- Cleft Lip & Cleft Palate
- Palatalization