musculus uvulae, a muscle that elevates and retracts the uvula, thickening the central part of the soft palate and helping the levator veli palatini muscles close the pharyngeal isthmus between the nasopharynx and oropharynx. It originates from the posterior nasal spine on the posterior margin of the hard palate and is innervated by the vagus nerve through the pharyngeal branch to the pharyngeal plexus.
