pharynx

Also known as pharynges

The pharynx (: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the esophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs respectively). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its structure varies across species. The pharynx carries food to the esophagus and air to the larynx. The flap of cartilage called the epiglottis stops food from entering the larynx.

AI overview

The pharynx is the part of your throat located behind your mouth and nose, sitting above the tubes that lead to your stomach and lungs. It serves the important function of directing food down to your stomach and air down to your lungs, with a special flap called the epiglottis preventing food from accidentally entering your airway.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Anatomy.Name: Pharynx
Anatomy.Latin: pharynx
Anatomy.Greek: φάρυγξ (phárynx)
Anatomy.Image: Illu01 head neck.jpg
Anatomy.Caption: Head and inner neck
Anatomy.Image2: Illu_pharynx.jpg
Anatomy.Caption2: Pharynx
Anatomy.Artery: Pharyngeal branches of ascending pharyngeal artery, ascending palatine, descending palatine, pharyngeal branches of inferior thyroid
Anatomy.Vein: Pharyngeal plexus
Anatomy.Nerve: Pharyngeal plexus of vagus nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve, maxillary nerve, mandibular nerve
Anatomy.part_of: Throat
Anatomy.system: Respiratory system, digestive system

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

63,202 papers

Anatomy of the Pharynx and Cervical Esophagus.ReviewNeuroimaging clinics of North America · 2022Akgoz Karaosmanoglu A, Ozgen BDOI: 10.1016/j.nic.2022.07.022
[Pharynx regeneration in planarians].ReviewOntogenez · 2009Kreshchenko ND
The pharynx: examination of an area too often ignored during upper endoscopy.ReviewGastrointestinal endoscopy · 2013Emura F, Baron TH, Gralnek IMDOI: 10.1016/j.gie.2013.02.021
The pharynx. Structural disorders.ReviewRadiologic clinics of North America · 1994Rubesin SE
[The pharynx. The imaging of its normal anatomy].ReviewDer Radiologe · 2000Lomoschitz F, Schima W, Schober E et al.DOI: 10.1007/s001170050781
The pharynx. Disorders of function.ReviewRadiologic clinics of North America · 1994Jones B
Development of Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx, with emphasis on its nervous system.ReviewActa pharmacologica Sinica · 2005Pilon M, Mörck CDOI: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2005.00070.x
The pharynx of Caenorhabditis elegans.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 1976Albertson DG, Thomson JNDOI: 10.1098/rstb.1976.0085

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Illu pharynx.jpg

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Pharynx
Commons gallery: Pharynx
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12425

Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

~12 min read

Article

18 sections

Contents

Structure
Nasopharynx
Oropharynx
Laryngopharynx
Function
Clinical significance
Inflammation
Pharyngeal cancer
Waldeyer's tonsillar ring
Etymology
Other vertebrates
Pharyngeal arches
Pharyngeal jaws {{anchor|Pharyngeal_jaws}}
Invertebrates
Additional images
See also
References
External links

In humans, the pharynx is part of the digestive system and the conducting zone of the respiratory system. (The conducting zone—which also includes the nostrils of the nose, the larynx, trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles—filters, warms, and moistens air and conducts it into the lungs). The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx (hypopharynx).