Anatomy & Physiology › Section U · The digestive system › Topic U.2

The mouth, pharynx, and esophagus

The first half-metre of the digestive tract turns a bite of food into a slippery bolus and delivers it to the stomach in a few seconds, while keeping it out of your airway. This topic follows that journey through the mouth, throat and esophagus.

In this topic

  • The mouth and its roof
  • The tongue
  • Salivary glands and saliva
  • Control of salivation
  • The teeth
  • Worked example: counting teeth
  • The pharynx
  • The esophagus
  • Swallowing in three phases
  • Worked example: when food goes down the wrong way
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Key takeaways

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