An opening in the roof of the mouth due to a failure of the palatal shelves to come fully together from either side of the mouth and fuse during the first months of development as an embryo. The opening in the palate permits communication between the nasal passages and the mouth. Surgery is needed to close the palate. Cleft palate can occur alone o [..]

Congenital deformity resulting in lack of fusion of the soft and/or hard palate, either partial or complete.

A birth defect in which the roof of the mouth is split, extending from behind the teeth to the nasal cavity; often occurs with other birth defects such as cleft lip and partial deafness

(French : fente palatine) Fissure of the mucous membrane and / or the bone structure of the palate.

A congenital split in the roof of the mouth so that the nose and mouth form one cavity. An operation can be carried out to close the split. Often but not always accompanied by hare lip. (19thC)

A cleft is a split between two things. The palate is the roof of your mouth. If you feel inside the middle of your mouth, you can touch the seam where the two halves of your mouth grew together while [..]

Congenital anomaly involving incomplete fusion of the palate in the midline of the mouth. (baby, palate, just not, grows together, at birth)

Congenital fissure of the soft and/or Hard Palate, due to faulty fusion.

Congenital fissure of the soft and/or hard palate, due to faulty fusion.

A congenital abnormality that creates a gap along the center of the roof of the mouth.

Structures of the palate have not properly closed, leaving an opening in the roof of the mouth. This can be inherited from one or both parents or caused by environmental issues during pregnancy, such [..]

The incomplete formation of the roof of the mouth.

occurs when the roof of the mouth does not completely close, leaving an opening that can extend into the nasal cavity. The cleft may involve either side of the palate. It can extend from the front of [..]

or lip describes a specific congenital disability involving the lip and gum. Say person who has a cleft palate. The term hare lip is anatomically incorrect and stigmatizing.

(teratology) An abnormal condition in which the two plates of the skull that form the hard palate (roof of the mouth) are not completely joined.