We just learned about the Hard Palate on the roof of the mouth.
Another part of the mouth is the Soft Palate.
This is on the roof of your mouth, right at the back of your throat.
You can feel that this is soft, and under the skin are five different muscles that help you swallow.
They all have big long names, but they make sense if you understand what they are doing:
- Levator & Tensor veli palatini - Lift and tightens up the palate to block the back of the throat so food doesn't go up to your nose
- Palatoglossus & Palatopharyngeus - Use the palate muscles to pull on the back of your throat (pharynx) to close up the place where you breathe (trachea) and make sure the food goes down the esophagus where it's supposed to
- Musculus uvulae - Moves the uvula to help block food from going up your nose
(from: wikipedia - soft palate)
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