What is the flap in your throat called?

Ah, yes. The flap in your throat. Possibly one of the most ignored parts of our anatomy until it goes wrong and you sound like a frog that has been smoking for decades. We need to investigate this matter and find out what exactly is going on back there.

Meet Your Palatine Uvula

The flap in question actually has a name – It’s called your palatine uvula (not too shabby, eh?) This tongue-twister sits at the back of your mouth, hanging from your soft palate like a bizarre punching bag waiting for its turn to finally hit someone.

Does Size Matter Here Too?

Some people have small uvulas while others have larger ones (it seems size really does matter every step of the way) but as far as medical professionals know, size doesn’t seem to affect health or anything significant whatsoever (shucks).

But Wait! There’s More!

Strangely enough, that pesky little thingy we call an “uvula” plays quite an important role in how speech sounds are formed – fun-fact alert! Who knew?

Say Ahhhhhh!

Next time you try opening wide at the dentist office or do some vocal exercises before singing karaoke with friends on a Friday night make sure to say ‘Ahhhh’ and take good look at what raises up: That’d be none other than…drumroll please….ta-dah YOUR PALATINE UVULA!!!!

How Speech Sounds Are Created

Now let me break into my Mr Wizard mode here real quick: When air travels through our nose/mouth/throat systems it makes something whistle-like effect which then creates sound waves known as phonemes. These /phonemes/ depend specifically on where vibrations happen within those channels during airflow passages making them unique from each other.

Our palatine uvula travels along with that airflow and helps our soft palate direct us to the sounds we need; all completely unnoticed I might add! Talk about a behind-the-scenes star!

So if it’s so cool, why does it get removed?

Now let me play devil’s advocate here for just one second… most doctors will tell you that removing your uvula is not necessary unless there are untreated conditions such as continuous sleep apnea or severe snoring that make life hectic (or something like that).

But on another note – some people find bigger ones gross or disgusting (pass the hypothetical rude judgmental meter please) and/or uneasy during swallowing. Therefore, they’d rather have them trimmed down through surgery known as “uvulectomy” which is more of an aesthetic preference than anything else.

Quick Recap

  • The flap in your throat is called your palatine uvula.
  • Size does NOT matter here too!
  • Your dear little friend plays an important role in how speech sounds are created.
  • Doctors usually do NOT recommend removal until certain circumstances arise (they’re smarter than Hollywood ever made them out to be).
  • Lastly for those jumping on this aesthetic train: In scenarios unrelated to any illnesses, removing it happens mostly because some individuals don’t feel comfortable having an elongated palate while doing everyday things.

There you have it folks. Next time you want to impress your friends at parties – ask ’em about what their palatine uvulas look like (OK maybe not at family functions their reactions could go either way). Happy learning!!

Random Posts