Morphological Study of Soft Palate by Using Computed Tomography-A Prospective Study.

Abstract

Soft palate is an important part of oro-naso-pharyngeal apparatus. The morphometric assessment of soft palate is well-performed on computed tomography (CT). To evaluate the morphology of soft palate in healthy individuals by using Computed tomography. The study was conducted on 300 healthy voluntary participants who were subjected to CT scan (sagittal view) of head and neck region. The measurements of antero-posterior and supero-inferior length of soft palate were performed by using Syngo CT 2009E software. The statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS software version 16 and test applied were one-way ANOVA, independent t-test, chi-square and Karl Pearson's co-relation coefficient. The participant's age ranged from 18-80 years with mean of 39.51±14.64. The study had equal number of males (n=150) and females (n=150). Out of six shapes of soft palate, Butt type (38.7%) was the commonest. The morphology of soft palate in different age groups was statistically not significant (p>0.05). The total mean of antero-posterior length (30.31±3.39 mm) of soft palate was more than supero-inferior length (10.72±1.71 mm). The mean of antero-posterior length in males (30.69±3.42 mm) was more than females (29.92±3.32 mm); which was statistically significant (p<0.05). The mean of supero-inferior length in males (10.67±1.78 mm) was less than females (10.78+1.64 mm), which was statistically not significant (p>0.05). CT scan is an important diagnostic aid for studying the accurate morphology of soft palate.