Head and neck muscles (chewing, facial, and throat muscles)

Superior pharyngeal constrictor

Musculus constrictor pharyngis superior

Origin

Pterygoid hamulus of the sphenoid bone, pterygomandibular raphe and the mylohyoid line of the mandible

Insertion

Median pharyngeal raphe, with fibers reaching to the pharyngeal tubercle of the occipital bone

Function

Narrows the upper pharynx and propels the food bolus caudally during swallowing

Innervation

Pharyngeal plexus (vagus nerve X with a contribution from glossopharyngeal nerve IX), motor from the nucleus ambiguus

Movement & chain

Works in a peristaltic wave together with the middle and inferior constrictors during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing.

Palpation

Directly accessible on the posterior wall of the oropharynx during intraoral examination.

Clinical

Together with tensor veli palatini forms the base of Passavant's ridge, which closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing; an anatomically relevant landmark in adenoidectomy.

Segmental innervation

Motor via the nucleus ambiguus, vagus nerve (X) with a contribution from the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX); no spinal segment.

In clinical practice

Forms Passavant's ridge during velopharyngeal seal; targeted in sleep apnea surgery (palatopharyngoplasty) and dysphagia therapy.

Region in the model

Head and neck muscles (chewing, facial, and throat muscles)