Palate - wikipedia Palate Not to be confused with palette ( disambiguation ) or pallet ( disambiguation ). `` Palatal '' redirects here. For the phonetics article, see Palatal consonant. Palate Head and neck. Palate exhibiting torus palatinus. Details Identifiers Latin Palatum MeSH A14. 521.658 Dorlands / Elsevier Palate TA A05. 1.01. 102 FMA 54549 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) The palate / ˈpælɪt / is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior bony hard palate, and the posterior fleshy soft palate ( or velum ). Contents 1 Structure 1.1 Innervation 1.2 Development 1.3 Variation 2 Function 3 History 3.1 Etymology 4 See also 5 Bibliography 6 References Structure See also : Hard palate and Soft palate Innervation The maxillary nerve branch of the trigeminal nerve supplies sensory innervation to the palate. Development The hard palate forms before birth. Variation See also : Cleft palate If the fusion is incomplete, it is called a cleft palate. 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. History Etymology The English synonyms palate and palatum, and also the related adjective palatine ( as in palatine bone ), are all from the Latin palatum via Old French palat, words that, like their English derivatives, refer to the `` roof of the mouth. '' The Latin word palatum and its derivatives mentioned above are all unrelated to a similar - sounding Latin word meaning palace, palatium, from which other senses of palatine and the English word palace itself derive. As the roof of the mouth was once considered the seat of the sense of taste, palate can also refer to this sense itself, as in the phrase `` a discriminating palate ''. By further extension, the flavor of a food ( particularly beer or wine ) may be called its palate, as when a wine is said to have an oaky palate. See also This article uses anatomical terminology ; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology. Language Vocal tract pallet, palette and pellet, objects whose names are homophonous with palate for many English - speakers Palatability Bibliography Saladin, Kenneth ( 2010 ). Anatomy and Physiology : The Unity of Form and Function. New York : McGraw Hill. p. 256. Thompson, Gale ( 2005 -- 2006 ). World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thompson Corporation. pp. Palate ( Hard and Soft Palate ). References Jump up ^ Wingerd, Bruce D. ( 1811 ). The Human Body Concepts of Anatomy and Physiology. Fort Worth : Saunders College Publishing. p. 166. ISBN 0 - 03 - 055507 - 8. Jump up ^ Wingerd, Bruce D. ( 1994 ). The Human Body Concepts of Anatomy and Physiology. Fort Worth : Saunders College Publishing. p. 478. ISBN 0 - 03 - 055507 - 8. Jump up ^ Goss, Charles Mayo ( 1966 ). Gray 's Anatomy. Philadelphia : Lea & Febiger. p. 1172. Jump up ^ Goss, Charles Mayo ( 1966 ). Gray 's Anatomy. Philadelphia : Lea & Febiger. p. 1201. Jump up ^ Harper, Douglas. `` palate ( the entry for ) ''. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 10 September 2011. palate - late 14c., ' roof of the mouth, ' from O.Fr. palat, from L. palatum ' roof of the mouth, ' perhaps of Etruscan origin. Popularly considered the seat of taste, hence transferred meaning ' sense of taste ' ( 1520s ). Jump up ^ Harper, Douglas. `` palatine ( the entry for ) ''. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 10 September 2011. palatine ( adj. ) - mid-15c., from M.Fr. palatin ( 15c. ), from M.L. palatinus ' of the palace ' ( of the Caesars ), from L. palatium ( see palace ). Used in English to mean ' quasi-royal authority. ' Reference to the Rhineland state is from c. 1580. Anatomy of the mouth Lip Vermilion border Frenulum of lower lip Labial commissure of mouth Philtrum Cheek Buccal fat pad Roof Hard palate Soft palate Palatine raphe Incisive papilla Gums Interdental papilla Gingival sulcus Gingival margin Gingival fibers Junctional epithelium Mucogingival junction Sulcular epithelium Stippling Periodontium Cementum Gingiva Periodontal ligament Glands Parotid gland duct Submandibular gland duct Sublingual gland duct Teeth see tooth anatomy Tongue Top Taste bud Median sulcus Terminal sulcus Foramen cecum Lingual tonsils Underside Frenulum Fimbriated fold Sublingual caruncle Glossoepiglottic folds Lingual septum Back of mouth Oropharynx fauces Plica semilunaris of the fauces Uvula Palatoglossal arch Palatopharyngeal arch Tonsillar fossa Palatine tonsil Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palate&oldid=776161434 '' Categories : Palate Hidden categories : Medicine infobox template using GraySubject or GrayPage Medicine infobox template using Dorlands parameter Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans ܐܪܡܝܐ Avañe'ẽ Авар Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch ދިވެހިބަސް Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Ido Íslenska Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ Қазақша Kurdî Latina Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Pangasinan Plattdüütsch Polski Português Runa Simi Русский Simple English کوردی Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça తెలుగు Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 19 April 2017, at 09 : 56. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: the part of the body that separates the mouth from the nasal cavity is the
Answer: palate