[Comparative anatomy of the velopharyngeal complex in human and non-human primates (2)]

The authors describe the soft palatal-pharyngeal unity, composed of the levator palati and palatopharyngeus muscles in the adult man, the new-born and the Saimiri. They recall the importance of the soft palatal-pharyngeal sphincter in the man's phonation. After having described the general evolution of the aerodigestive tract in the no human mammals and the man, notions of evolutive morphology of the soft palatal-pharyngeal unity are established. They are characterized by the gradual divergence of the axis of the 2 muscles forming the soft palatal-pharyngeal unity ending in the appearance met in the adult man, indispensable in view of a soft palatal-pharyngeal ability allowing a articulated language.