- Nasopharynx
- : The area of the upper throat behind the nose. The word "nasopharynx" is a hybrid — part Latin, part Greek. "Naso-" is a prefix that has to do with the nose. It comes from the Latin "nasus" for the nose (or snout). "Pharynx" is the Greek word for throat. The Greco-Roman term "nasopharynx" was coined in 1877.
* * *The part of the pharynx that lies above the soft palate; anteriorly it opens into the nasal cavities via the choanae; inferiorly, it communicates with the oropharynx via the pharyngeal isthmus; laterally it communicates with tympanic cavities via pharyngotympanic (auditory) tubes. SYN: pars nasalis pharyngis [TA], epipharynx, nasal part of pharynx, nasal pharynx, pharyngonasal cavity, rhinopharynx.
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na·so·phar·ynx -'far-iŋ(k)s n, pl -pha·ryn·ges -fə-'rin-(.)jēz also -phar·ynx·es the upper part of the pharynx continuous with the nasal passages compare LARYNGOPHARYNX* * *
n.the part of the pharynx that lies above the level of the junction of the hard and soft palates. It connects the nasal cavity to the oropharynx.• nasopharyngeal adj.* * *
na·so·phar·ynx (na″zo-farґinks) [naso- + pharynx] pars nasalis pharyngis.
Medical dictionary. 2011.