The palatine uvula, usually referred to as simply the uvula (icon), is the conic projection from the posterior edge of the middle of the soft palate

Soft palate

The soft palate is the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is distinguished from the hard palate at the front of the mouth in that it does not contain bone....

, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands

Alveolar gland

In contrast to tubular glands, in the second main variety of gland, the secretory portion is enlarged and the lumen variously increased in size. These are termed alveolar glands ....

, and some muscular fibers (musculus uvulae

Musculus uvulae

The musculus uvulae is a muscle of the soft palate.-Origin and insertion:It arises from the posterior nasal spine of the palatine bones and from the palatine aponeurosis....

).
The uvula plays a role in the articulation of some sounds of the human voice

Human voice

The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...

. The uvula functions in tandem with the back of the throat, the palate, and air coming up from the lungs to create a number of guttural

Guttural consonant

Guttural is a term used to describe any of several speech sounds whose primary place of articulation is near the back of the oral cavity. In some definitions this is restricted to pharyngeal consonants, but in others includes some but not all velar and uvular consonants...

 and other sounds.