Superior pharyngeal constrictor

Looks like

The thinnest throat-squeezing muscle, wrapping the upper throat behind the nose and mouth.

What it does

Squeezes the upper throat and helps the soft palate seal off the nose during swallowing.

Keeping it well

Powered by the vagus nerve. Food or drink coming out of the nose needs a swallowing assessment.

Related conditions

• Bad breath (halitosis)
• Botulism
• Burning mouth syndrome
• Common cold
• Diphtheria
• Fibromyalgia
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Hand, foot and mouth disease
• Heat exhaustion & heatstroke
• Influenza
• Lichen planus
• Malnutrition & refeeding syndrome
• Mouth ulcers (aphthous stomatitis)
• Muscular dystrophy
• Obstructive sleep apnoea
• Pemphigus vulgaris
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Sarcoma
• Sarcopenia
• Scarlet fever
• Stevens–Johnson syndrome / toxic epidermal necrolysis
• Tetanus