The soft palate (Fig. 8.269) continues posteriorly from the hard palate and acts as a valve that can be: depressed to help close the oropharyngeal isthmus, and elevated to separate the nasopharynx from the oropharynx.
The soft palate is formed and moved by four muscles and is covered by mucosa that is continuous with the mucosa lining the pharynx and oral and nasal cavities.