Table of Contents
What makes sure food goes down the esophagus?
When you swallow a small ball of mushed-up food or liquids, a special flap called the epiglottis (say: ep-ih-GLOT-iss) flops down over the opening of your windpipe to make sure the food enters the esophagus and not the windpipe.
How does the body differentiate air and food?
The two passages separate again here, in the hypopharynx. Food and liquid pass backward into the esophagus on their way to the stomach. Air passes forward through the larynx and into the trachea, on its way to the lungs. So the lines of travel for air, and for food and liquid, cross over in the oropharynx.
When you swallow does food travel down your esophagus or trachea?
When food and fluids leave the mouth, they pass through the throat. Swallowing of food and fluids begins voluntarily and continues automatically. A small muscular flap (epiglottis) closes to prevent food and fluids from going down the windpipe (trachea) toward the lungs.
What happens to the throat and esophagus as you swallow the food?
As a person swallows, food moves from the mouth to the throat, also called the pharynx (1). The upper esophageal sphincter opens (2) so that food can enter the esophagus, where waves of muscular contractions, called peristalsis, propel the food downward (3).
What happens after you swallow your food?
After you swallow, peristalsis pushes the food down your esophagus into your stomach. Stomach. Glands in your stomach lining make stomach acid and enzymes that break down food. Muscles of your stomach mix the food with these digestive juices.
Does food go down esophagus?
When you swallow food, it passes from your mouth down into your throat (pharynx). From there, the food moves down through a long tube (the esophagus) and into your stomach.
How does the trachea and esophagus work together?
First, the tongue pushes the food into the throat. Next, the epiglottis, a small but important flap of tissue, folds over the voice box at the top of the windpipe. This keeps food from going down the wrong way. Finally, the esophagus contracts and moves food toward the stomach.
How does your body know when to swallow?
The epiglottis responds to swallowing in this way because of tiny sensitive nerve endings in the mouth and throat that surround and coat the epiglottis. All of those nerve endings help the brain know when to swallow, and have a role in other functions like breathing, eating, sleeping and talking.
How does the body swallow food?
That includes the tongue, teeth, epiglottis, and esophagus. The teeth grind and chop food into tiny pieces while the glands in the mouth moisten it with saliva. Then the tongue pushes the moistened food, or bolus, to the back of the throat and down into the esophagus, which leads to the stomach.
What does it mean when it hurts when food goes down?
Strep throat, epiglottitis, and esophagitis are some possible causes of pain when swallowing. Throat infections are one of the most common causes of pain when swallowing. These include strep throat, which is an infection with Streptococcal bacteria.