Buccopharyngeal Cavity - Practice Questions & MCQ

• It is the first part of the alimentary canal.
• The cheeks, tongue, and palate frame the mouth, which is also called the oral cavity (or buccal cavity).
• The entrance of the mouth is guarded by the lips or labia.
• The mouth opens internally to a narrow space called vestibule and a wide space called the oral cavity.
• The oral cavity is a space-bound by the following boundaries:
  • Superior boundary - hard palate and soft palate
  • Posterior boundary - uvula, palatine tonsils, the root of the tongue and lingual tonsils.
  • Anterior and lateral boundary - lips and cheeks
  • Inferior boundary - tongue
• The mucosa of the buccal cavity is made up of stratified squamous epithelium.
• The palate is a hard structure that forms the roof of the buccal cavity. 
• It bears transverse ridges called rugae. 
• The posterior part of the hard palate is smooth and fleshy. It is called the soft palate. 
• The posterior end of the soft palate ends in a conical flap-like structure called uvula. 
• Uvula cuts off the upper nasal part of the pharynx from the oral part of the pharynx during swallowing.

Buccopharyngeal cavity is depicted in the diagram below :