Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The part of the pharynx above the soft palate that is continuous with the nasal passages.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun That part of the pharynx which is behind and above the soft palate, directly continuous with the nasal passages: distinguished from oropharynx.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy The nasal part of the pharynx, lying behind the nose and above the level of the soft palate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun cavity forming the upper part of the pharynx

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The nasopharynx is the area above the soft palate (roof of the mouth) and behind the nose.

    Cancer News 2010

  • Formaldehyde has long been linked to rare tumors of the nasopharynx, which includes the back of the throat, which affect about 2,000 Americans a year, according to the American Cancer Society.

    Study links formaldehyde to more common cancers 2009

  • In Japanese trials, PSK significantly extended the survival rates of those with cancer of the stomach, colon-rectum, esophagus, nasopharynx, and lung.

    Forever Young M.D. Nicholas Perricone 2010

  •   A quarter-turn of her hand and she held aloft the fruits of her labor-two gleaming gobs of lymphatic tissue that had been blocking the nasopharynx of the unconsciousattaché.

    The Difference Between Men and Women 2010

  • Formaldehyde has long been linked to rare tumors of the nasopharynx, which includes the back of the throat, which affect about 2,000 Americans a year, according to the American Cancer Society.

    Formaldehyde Linked To More Common Cancers | Impact Lab 2009

  • The oncology business unit will help Pfizer expedite launches of new cancer agents, and focus research efforts on cancers common in Asia, including those of the liver, esophagus and nasopharynx.

    Pfizer Affirms 2008 Outlook, 2008

  • From there air goes to nasopharynx, the soft palate at the back of the nasal cavity and top of the throat, for more warming and moistening.

    The Respiratory System: Anatomy 101 2007

  • Usually bacterial, tracking up from the nasopharynx: streptococcal, pneumococcal, Hemophilus influenzae in children under 5 years.

    Chapter 7 1993

  • At 3.45 P.M. they had been all reëxamined by the doctor, and a few tag ends were picked out of the nasopharynx of one child.

    Civics and Health William H. Allen

  • The Nasal Part of the Pharynx (pars nasalis pharyngis; nasopharynx) lies behind the nose and above the level of the soft palate: it differs from the oral and laryngeal parts of the pharynx in that its cavity always remains patent.

    XI. Splanchnology. 2c. The Pharynx 1918

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