Tensor palati

The tensor veli palatini muscle is one of the five paired muscles of the soft palate. It is triangular in shape and its tendon wraps around the pulley of pterygoid hamulus to alter the shape of the soft palate.

Summary

• origin: it has three sites of origin:
  • scaphoid fossa of the medial pterygoid plate
  • medial aspect of spine of sphenoid bone
  • lateral cartilage of Eustachian tube
• insertion: palatine aponeurosis
• action: tenses the palatine aponeurosis and opens the opening of the auditory tube during swallowing which allows equalization of pressure between the middle ear and pharynx
• innervation: nerve to medial pterygoid which is from the main trunk of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (Vc)