Docs, what is the use of the uvula?

Question

Why can't we just have it taken out? It gives my husband a fit sometimes if he snores all night.

Answer 1

It is suppose to help block food from your windpipe while eating. Or, younger people find it interesting as a new piercing place. If you want a very technical answer, then here you go:The uvula has its own little muscle, the musculus uvuae, to help it stiffen and change shape, so it helps fill in the space at the back of the throat. It helps keep food from going down the wrong way down the breathing passage when one swallows. Singers credit the uvula with letting them produce a vibrato, a wavy up-and-down sound.