Definition of "nasopharynx" [nasopharynx]

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

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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