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The epiglottis is made of elastic cartilage covered with a mucous membrane, attached to the entrance of the larynx. It projects upwards and backwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone. The epiglottis may be inflamed in a condition called epiglottitis, which is most commonly due to the vaccine-preventable bacterium Haemophilus influenzae.
The flap of cartilage called the epiglottis stops food from entering the larynx. 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 ...
Mucociliary clearance (MCC), mucociliary transport, or the mucociliary escalator describes the self-clearing mechanism of the airways in the respiratory system. [1] It is one of the two protective processes for the lungs in removing inhaled particles including pathogens before they can reach the delicate tissue of the lungs.
The epiglottis functions to guard the entrance of the glottis, the opening between the vocal folds. It is normally pointed upward during breathing with its underside functioning as part of the pharynx, but during swallowing, the epiglottis folds down to a more horizontal position, with its upper side functioning as part of the pharynx.
The epiglottic valleculae are paired spaces between the root of the tongue and anterior surface of the epiglottis. Each vallecula is bordered medially by the median glossoepiglottic fold and laterally by the lateral glossoepiglottic fold. The valleculae can collect saliva to prevent initiation of the swallowing reflex.
In a reflex arc, a series of physiological steps occur very rapidly to produce a reflex.Generally, a sensory receptor receives an environmental stimulus, in this case from objects reaching nerves in the back of the throat, and sends a message via an afferent nerve to the central nervous system (CNS).
The anterior or lingual surface of the epiglottis is curved forward, and covered on its upper, free part by mucous membrane which is reflected on to the sides and root of the tongue, forming a median and two lateral glossoepiglottic folds; the lateral folds are partly attached to the wall of the pharynx.
The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies greatly, depending on the size of the organism, the environment in which it lives and its evolutionary ...