Uvula (redirected from palatine uvulae)

uvula: see palate.

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uvula

a small fleshy finger-like flap of tissue that hangs in the back of the throat and is an extension of the soft palate

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uvula [′yü·vyə·lə]

(anatomy)

A fingerlike projection in the midline of the posterior border of the soft palate.

A lobe of the vermiform process of the lower surface of the cerebellum.

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Uvula 

(also palatine uvula), a cone-shaped extension of the soft palate in humans and some anthropoid apes. The uvula departs from the middle of the posterior margin of the palate and proceeds with the apex downward. It is covered by a mucous membrane. The anterior side of the uvula faces the mouth, and the posterior side the nasopharynx. The uvula has its own tensor and levator muscles. When food reaches the throat and comes into contact with the uvula, the latter, along with the entire soft palate, rises by reflex action and thus enables the food to pass from the mouth into the pharynx. The human uvula also aids in hermetically sealing the mouth to prevent the jaw from sagging when the body is vertical. Parts of the oral appendages of different origins in some arthropods (crustaceans, arachnids, and insects) are also called uvulas.