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Palatopharyngeus: anatomy, location and function

A muscle of the soft palate and pharynx that forms the posterior pillar of the fauces. Elevates the pharynx and larynx during swallowing and narrows the oropharyngeal isthmus by drawing the palatopharyngeal arches together.

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Highlighted in the model: Palatopharyngeus. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Palatopharyngeus at a glance

What it is
A muscle of the soft palate and pharynx that forms the posterior pillar of the fauces.
Location
Arises from the hard palate and palatine aponeurosis and passes down the pharynx wall to insert onto the posterior border of the thyroid cartilage and the pharyngeal wall.
Function
Elevates the pharynx and larynx during swallowing and narrows the oropharyngeal isthmus by drawing the palatopharyngeal arches together.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA46672 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: pharyngeal plexus (vagus nerve, CN X, with cranial accessory fibers)
  • Forms the palatopharyngeal arch

Structures next to the palatopharyngeus

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Palatopharyngeus (FMA46672). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.