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Supralaryngeal Anatomy & Physiology

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Velopharyngeal Anatomy

• Soft palate & its relationship with the pharyngeal wall

• Muscles here run from skull and insert somewhere in palate

• Muscles important for speech-Cleft palate

• Three sounds in English that require velum to be depressed- n, m, ing

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Soft Palate

• Velum; flexible muscular flap hanging from hard palate

• Attached by the palatine aponeurosis – Sheet of flattened tendon Arrangement of muscle

fibers:• Elevates, lowers and tenses

• Three classes of muscles:– Depressor relaxers (glossopalatine & Pharyngopalatine)– Elevators (Levator Palatini & Uvular)– Depressor-Tensor (Tensor Palatini)

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Levator Veli Palatini

• Palatal Elevator, bulk of soft palate

• Arises from the temporal bone & medial wall of the eustachian tube

• Courses down to insert into the palatal aponeurosis of soft palate

• Primary elevator of the soft palate– Contraction elevates & retracts the posterior

velum

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Levator Veli Palatini

TemporalBone

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Muscularis Uvulae

• Medial & posterior portions of the soft palate

• Arises from posterior nasal spine of palatine

bone & palatal aponeurosis

• Fibers run the length of the soft palate

• Inserts into mucous membrane of the velum

• Contraction shortens the velum, bunching it

up

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Tensor Veli Palatini

• Tensor of the soft palate and dilator of the eustachian tube

• Arises from the sphenoid bone & lateral eustachian tube wall

• Terminate into a tendon that wraps around the pterygoid hammulus, then flattens to become the palatine aponeurosis

• Contraction tenses the soft palate and flattens it & dilates eustachian tube to aerate it.

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Hammulusof Pterygoid

Eustachian Tube

Tensor Veli Palatini

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Soft Palate

Levator Palatini

Eustachian Tube

TensorPalatini

Sagittal section ofVocal tract

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Palatoglossus

• Posterior of oral cavity

• Anterior faucial pillar (First arch in oral cavity)

• Serves dual purpose:– Elevates tongue or depresses soft palate

– Originates at the anterolateral palatal aponeurosis & inserts into the sides of the tongue

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Palatoglossus

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Palatopharyngeus

• Anterior fibers originate from the anterior hard palate & posterior fibers arise from the midline of the soft palate

• Insert into posterior thyroid cartilage

• Courses down and form posterior faucial pillars

• Assists in narrowing the pharyngeal cavity & lowers the soft palate & elevates larynx

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Velar Depressors

Soft Palate

Palatoglossus

Palatine Tonsil

Palatopharyngeus

AnteriorFaucial

Arch

PosteriorFaucial

Arch

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Supralaryngeal Physiology

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Introduction• Source-filter theory

–Source = generates sound (larynx)

–Filter = sound modified (vocal tract)

• Vocal tract-–Filter for all vowels and consonants

–Serves as source of noise for consonants

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Noise Generation: Source

• All consonants include an element of noise (except semi-vowels)

• Consonant that is voiced= Noise added to the voice generated at Glottal Source

• Consonant that is voiceless= Characterized entirely by noise

• Narrowing of vocal tract causes resistance to cause noise (usually in upper vocal tract)– /h/ is an exception- noise caused at the glottis

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Oral Pressure

• Two functions of vocal tract:

– Serves as a filter for all consonants & vowels

– Serves as a source of noise for most consonants

• Prerequisite for noise:

– Build pressure behind constriction or occlusion

• Intraoral air pressure (requires velopharyngeal

competence)

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Turbulent Noise

• The noise element of consonants produced

by fricatives is the result of turbulence.

– Hiss of steam

– Occurs when air channel is constricted enough

to disrupt smooth flow of air

– Turbulence if the other type of consonant noise

(bursts & turbulence)

– Place of articulation distinguishes fricatives

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Places of Articulation

H

K-G-NG

SH-ZH-L-CH-J-R

T-D-S-Z-NTHM-W-P-B

F-V

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Bursts of Noise

• Burst, a puff of air

• Air stream is stopped by tongue or lips (plosive or stop)

• Progress of stop:– Closure (tongue, lips)-Block air stream

– Pressure builds behind stoppage

– Brief gap of silence

– Stoppage is released (can be aspirated)

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Closure Stoppage Release Transition

AirstreamStoppage

Transition

SilencePlosiveBurst

Vowel

Airstream

Typical Plosive Production

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Reading/Assignments

• Seikel: Pgs. 323-326;

• Dickson: Pgs. 208-218