Morphometry of the palate and pharyngeal airway- A computed tomographic study

Background: The morphometry of the palate and pharyngeal airway has a crucial role in the development of disorders like apnea. Therefore the present study aims to explore the shape and dimensions of the palate and the pharyngeal airway. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on normal sagittal and axial sections of head and neck in 100 CT images. Results: The average length of the hard and soft palates measured 4.49±0.38 and 3.44±0.61cm respectively. The anteroposterior dimension of the soft palate was 0.90±0.33 cm. The velopalatine angle measured 130.23±9.98°. The luminal areas were 4.59±1.81, 2.058±1.09 and 2.99±1.08 cm in naso, oro and laryngo pharynx respectively. The soft palate showed varied shapes which were classified as a straight line, leaf-like, rat-tail, distorted S, crooked and butt like. Conclusion: The present study attempts to provide a normal database to understand the anatomy of the soft palate and pharyngeal airways.