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Diagram showing the parts of the pharynx. Date: 30 July 2014 (released by CRUK) Source: Original email from CRUK: Author: Cancer Research UK: Permission (Reusing this file) This image has been released as part of an open knowledge project by Cancer Research UK. If re-used, attribute to Cancer Research UK / Wikimedia Commons
The pharynx (pl.: 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 pharyngeal muscles are a group of muscles that form the pharynx, which is posterior to the oral cavity, determining the shape of its lumen, and affecting its sound properties as the primary resonating cavity. The pharyngeal muscles (involuntary skeletal) push food into the esophagus.
The sites of origin of the muscles collectively are the pterygoid hamulus (and occasionally the adjoining posterior margin of the medial pterygoid plate) anteriorly, (the posterior margin of) the pterygomandibular raphe, the posterior extremity of the mylohyoid line of mandible, and (negligibly) the side of the tongue. [1]
As soon as a bolus of food is received in the pharynx, elevator muscles relax, and the pharynx descends. The inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle, along with the other constrictors, contract upon the bolus, and convey it downward into the esophagus. [4] [7] During swallowing, they contract and cause peristalsis in the pharynx. [4]
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The palatopharyngeal arch (pharyngopalatine arch, posterior pillar of fauces) is larger and projects further toward the middle line than the palatoglossal arch; it runs downward, lateralward, and backward to the side of the pharynx, and is formed by the projection of the palatopharyngeal muscle, covered by mucous membrane.
Waldeyer's tonsillar ring (pharyngeal lymphoid ring, Waldeyer's lymphatic ring, or tonsillar ring) is a ringed arrangement of lymphoid organs in the pharynx.Waldeyer's ring surrounds the naso-and oropharynx, with some of its tonsillar tissue located above and some below the soft palate (and to the back of the mouth cavity).