Levator veli palatini
muscle
The levator veli palatini () is a muscle of the soft palate and pharynx. It is innervated by the vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) via its pharyngeal plexus. During swallowing, it contracts, elevating the soft palate to help prevent food from entering the nasopharynx.
Structure
The levator veli palatini muscle occurs in the soft palate of the mouth. It forms a sling superior and immediately posterior to the palatine aponeurosis.
Origin
The primary site of origin of the muscle is a quadrangular roughened area upon the medial extremity of the inferior aspect of the petrous part of the temporal bone; here, the muscle arises by a small tendon.
Additional fibres of the muscle arise from the inferior aspect of the cartilaginous part of pharyngotympanic tube, and the vaginal process of sphenoid bone.
Insertion
In the medial third of the soft palate, its fibers spread out between the two strands of the palatoglossus muscle to attach to the superior surface of the palatine aponeurosis and intermingle with fibres of its contralateral partner.
Nerve supply
The levator veli palatini muscle receives motor innervation from the vagus nerve (CN X) via the pharyngeal plexus.
Relations
During its course from its origin to its insertion, the muscle passes medial to the superior margin of the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle.
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This entry incorporates text from “Levator veli palatini” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.