Muscles of the soft palate

There are five paired muscles of the soft palate that are collectively referred to as the muscles of the soft palate or the palatal muscles:

• tensor veli palatini muscle
• levator veli palatini muscle
• ​palatopharyngeus muscle
• palatoglossus muscle
• muscle of the uvula

All of them are innervated by the pharyngeal plexus, apart from tensor veli palatini muscle, which is innervated by the nerve to medial pterygoid (a branch of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve).