palate

(pal′ăt)

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[L. palatum, roof of the mouth, palate]
The horizontal structure separating the mouth and the nasal cavity; the roof of the mouth, supported anteriorly by the maxillae and palatine bones.
SEE: mouth for illus

DISEASES AFFECTING THE PALATE
Koplik spots: a rash frequently seen on the palate in measles; secondary syphilis: mucous patches on the palate; herpes of the throat: vesicles on the pharyngeal walls and soft palate; swelling of uvula: noted in inflammations of pharynx and tonsil and in nephritis, severe anemia, and angioneurotic edema; in diphtheria and necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, by a membranous exudate; in some hemorrhagic diatheses, by a bloody extravasation; Kaposi sarcoma: dark purplish-red lesions that may be found on the hard and soft palate; paralysis: a possible result of diphtheria, bulbar paralysis, neuritis, basal meningitis, or a tumor at the base of the brain; anesthesia: in pathological conditions of the second division of the fifth nerve.

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