Figure 5. Pharyngeal wall tissue displacement.

Left and right panels show, respectively, the mean (± s.e.m.) tissue displacements in medial–lateral and ventral–caudal directions in the ventral (□), lateral (⊠), and dorsal (▪) sectors in the rostral, mid- and caudal pharynx. In each plot, displacement (ordinate) represents movement of a right-sided sector relative to the centroid of the velopharynx such that, positive medial–lateral displacements are directed laterally, and positive dorsal–ventral displacements are directed ventrally. Note in the left panel, the lateral sectors in the mid- and caudal regions showed significant displacement (less than control) in the medial direction (negative values) (P < 0.0001). Lateral sector movement was greater (in the negative diretion) than both ventral and control (*). Comparison of lateral sector displacement among regions showed that the caudal region (†) was significantly less that that in the mid- region (††) (P < 0.016). In the right panel, ventrally directed displacement in both ventral and lateral sectors was significantly greater than that in control (all P < 0.003). When compared at a given region, ventral sector displacements (**) were greater than those of the lateral sectors (*). Compared among regions, ventral displacement of ventral sectors in the mid- and caudal regions (††) were significantly greater than ventral displacement of ventral sectors in the rostral region (†) (P < 0.03). Note also, that ventral displacement of lateral sectors was significantly different by region such that: rostral < mid- (†) < caudal (††) (P < 0.03).