Anatomy of the Velopharyngeal Valve

Gelany, Ahmed Elsayed; Abd EL Naeem, Abeer Farid

doi:10.21608/smj.2019.43700

Anatomy of the Velopharyngeal Valve

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Phoniatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University.

² Department of Anatomy and embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University.

10.21608/smj.2019.43700

Abstract

Introduction: Understanding the normal anatomy and physiology of the velopharyngeal mechanism is the first step in providing appropriate diagnosis and treatment for children born with cleft lip and palate. The function of the velopharyngeal mechanism is to create a tight seal between the velum and pharyngeal walls to separate the oral and nasal cavities for various purposes, including speech.
Objective of the review: To study the anatomy of velopharyngeal valve and its dysfunction
Summary: The velopharyngeal valve is very important for normal speech production. This valve is made up of the following structures:
Velum (also called soft palate)
Lateral pharyngeal walls – the side walls of the throat
Posterior pharyngeal wall – the back wall of the throat
Conclusion: Understanding the anatomy of velopharyngeal valve is important to know various types of dysfunction

Keywords

Main Subjects

Anesthesia.

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