The partition between the cavity of the mouth below, and the nose above. At the front is the hard palate composed of a bony plate covered by mucous membrane; further back and joined to it is the soft palate which is basically muscular. When food or air is passing through the mouth, as in swallowing, coughing, or vomiting, the soft palate is drawn upwards so as to touch the back wall of the throat and shut off the cavity of the nose. Movements of the soft palate, by changing the shape of the mouth and nose cavities, are important in the production of speech.