There are several kinds of cleft-palate in different combinations. In the lip (cheilo-schisis), in the lip and jaw
(cheilo-gnatho-schisis), in the lip, the jaw and the palate (cheilo-gnatho-palato-schisis) and just the palate (palato-schisis).
A cleft-palate is unilateral if the cleft is visible on either the left or the right side of the lip. If there is a cleft on both sides, it is called a double cleft-palate. As from the outside nothing special is to be seen, an isolated cleft in the palate is sometimes only discovered when the child has difficulty drinking.