The
palate is the roof of the
mouth in humans and
vertebrate animals. It separates the
oral cavity from the
nasal cavity. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior bony
hard palate, and the posterior fleshy
soft palate or
velum. The
maxillary nerve branch of the
trigeminal nerve (V) supplies
sensory innervation to the palate.
Etymology
The name is
Middle English and is probably derived from the
Latin palatum or the Old French
palat.
Function
When functioning in conjunction with other parts of the mouth the palate produces certain sounds, particularly
velar,
palatal,
palatalized,
postalveolar,
alveolo-palatal, and
uvular consonants.
