velopharyngeal closure

velopharyngeal closure,

closure of the nasal airway by the elevation of the soft palate and contraction of the posterior and lateral pharyngeal wall. It is needed for vowels and for all consonants except /n/, /m/, and /ng/.

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closure,

n the act or condition of being brought together or closed up.

closure, adjustive arcs of,

n.pl the arcs of jaw closure found in deflective malocclusion caused by an intercusping of the teeth that does not coincide with a centrically related jaw closure.

closure, arcs of mandibular,

n.pl the circular or elliptic arcs created by closure of the mandible.

closure, centric path of,

n the path traversed by the mandible during closure when its associated neuromuscular mechanism is in a balanced state of tonus.

closure, velopharyngeal

n the closure of nasal air escape by the knee-action elevation of the soft palate and contraction of the posterior pharyngeal wall.

closure, voluntary arcs of,

n.pl jaw closure directions consciously made by a patient.