Library · Physiology
Swallowing
Make it clearer
Swallowing, which is simply getting something down, means carrying it from the mouth to the stomach by way of the pharynx, which is the throat, and the esophagus, the tube that runs down to the stomach.
It looks like a single gesture, but it is really three linked stages: oral, pharyngeal and esophageal. And it is no small movement: the stages are produced by the coordinated actions of more than thirty nerves and muscles.
The middle stage is the delicate one. The pharyngeal phase is the first irreversible step: once it starts, it cannot be stopped. And it has a job beyond moving food along, because food and air share that stretch. Its main protective mechanism is closing the vocal cords, so that nothing goes down the path the air takes. The same hallway carries air and food, and one door closes before the other opens.
In brief
Swallowing is the passage of a substance from the mouth to the stomach through the pharynx and the esophagus.
It is described in three stages, oral, pharyngeal and esophageal, produced by the coordinated actions of more than thirty nerves and muscles.
The pharyngeal phase is the first irreversible step and protects the airway, mainly by closing the vocal cords.
The same hallway carries air and food, and one door closes before the other opens.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Swallowing, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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