Origin
Palatine bone, palatine aponeurosis.
Insertion
Tunica mucosa of the uvula.
Blood supply
Ascending palatine artery, greater palatine artery.
Nerve supply
Vagus nerve.
Action
It helps to form some speech sounds while talking, singing, laughing, crying and screaming.
Disease/Injury
Uvulitis means the inflammation of uvula where it swells up to 5 times its normal size. It can cause choking and give rise to problems in breathing, talking and eating.
Muscle Exercise
To stop snoring, repeatedly contract the muscle in the throat so that uvula moves up and down.
Interesting fact
If you massage the uvula, it helps to vomit out the stomach contents. If the uvula is long, it causes snoring during sleep.
