Pharynx: Difference between revisions

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| Artery = [[pharyngealPharyngeal branches of ascending pharyngeal artery]], [[ascending palatine artery|ascending palatine]], [[descending palatine artery|descending palatine]], [[Pharyngeal branches of inferior thyroid artery|pharyngeal branches of inferior thyroid]]

| Vein = [[pharyngealPharyngeal plexus (venous)|pharyngealPharyngeal plexus]]

| Nerve = [[pharyngealPharyngeal plexus of vagus nerve]], [[recurrent laryngeal nerve]], [[maxillary nerve]], [[mandibular nerve]]

| Lymph =

The '''pharynx''' ({{plural form}}: '''pharynges''') is the part of the [[throat]] behind the [[human mouth|mouth]] and [[nasal cavity]], and above the [[oesophagusesophagus]] and [[trachea]] (the tubes going down to the [[stomach]] and the [[lung]]s respectively). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its structure varies across species. The pharynx carries food and air to the esophagus and air to the [[larynx]] respectively. The flap of cartilage called the [[epiglottis]] stops food from entering the larynx.

In humans, the pharynx is part of the [[Digestion|digestive system]] and the [[conducting zone]] of the [[respiratory system]]. (The conducting zone—which also includes the [[nostril]]s of the [[Human nose|nose]], the [[larynx]], [[trachea]], [[bronchus|bronchi]], and [[bronchiole]]s—filters, warms and moistens air and conducts it into the [[lung]]s).<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Fasick J |title = Respiratory Syster|publisher = Benjamin Cummings (Pearson Education, Inc)|year = 2006|pages = 1|url = http://www.kean.edu/~jfasick/docs/Spring%20Semester%20Lectures%20Chapt.%2016-28/Chapter%2022a.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140612010803/http://www.kean.edu/~jfasick/docs/Spring%20Semester%20Lectures%20Chapt.%2016-28/Chapter%2022a.pdf | archive-date = 12 June 2014 }}</ref> The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the '''nasopharynx''', '''oropharynx''', and '''laryngopharynx. It is also important in [[Speech production|vocalization]]'''.

[[File:Blausen_0872_UpperRespiratorySystemBlausen 0872 UpperRespiratorySystem.png|thumb|Upper respiratory system, with the nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx labeled at left]]

* the '''salpingopharyngeal fold''', a vertical fold of mucous membrane extending from the inferior part of the torus and containing the [[salpingopharyngeus muscle]].

* the '''salpingopalatine fold''', a smaller fold, in front of the salpingopharyngeal fold, extending from the superior part of the torus to the palate and containing the [[levator veli palatini]] muscle. It also contains some muscle fibres called '''salpingopalatine muscle'''.<ref name="test">{{cite journal| vauthors = Simkins CS |title=Functional anatomy of the Eustachian tube |journal=Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery |date=November 1943 |volume=38 |issue=5 |pagespage=476–484479 |doi=10.1001/archotol.1943.00670040495009|quote=The anterior fold of the torus is made by a few delicate fibers of muscle which [...] I have referred to the muscle as the salpingopalatine muscle.}}</ref> The [[tensor veli palatini]] is lateral to theand [[levator andveli doespalatini]] notare contributelateral to the fold, sinceand thedo originnot is deep to the cartilaginous openingcontribute.

The ''HACEK'' organisms (''[[Haemophilus|'''H'''aemophilus]], [[Actinobacillus|'''A'''ctinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans]], [[Cardiobacterium hominis|'''C'''ardiobacterium hominis]], [[Eikenella|'''E'''ikenella corrodens]], [[Kingella|'''K'''ingella]]'') are part of the normal oropharyngeal flora, which grow slowly, prefer a carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere, and share an enhanced capacity to produce [[endocardial]] infections, especially in young children.<ref name="pmid18087053">{{cite journal | vauthors = Morpeth S, Murdoch D, Cabell CH, Karchmer AW, Pappas P, Levine D, Nacinovich F, Tattevin P, Fernández-Hidalgo N, Dickerman S, Bouza E, del Río A, Lejko-Zupanc T, de Oliveira Ramos A, Iarussi D, Klein J, Chirouze C, Bedimo R, Corey GR, Fowler VG | display-authors = 6 | title = Non-HACEK gram-negative bacillus endocarditis | journal = Annals of Internal Medicine | volume = 147 | issue = 12 | pages = 829–835 | date = December 2007 | pmid = 18087053 | doi = 10.7326/0003-4819-147-12-200712180-00002 | s2cid = 11122488 }}</ref> ''[[Fusobacterium]]'' is a pathogen.<ref name="ludlam2004">{{cite journal | vauthors = Aliyu SH, Marriott RK, Curran MD, Parmar S, Bentley N, Brown NM, Brazier JS, Ludlam H | display-authors = 6 | title = Real-time PCR investigation into the importance of Fusobacterium necrophorum as a cause of acute pharyngitis in general practice | journal = Journal of Medical Microbiology | volume = 53 | issue = Pt 10 | pages = 1029–1035 | date = October 2004 | pmid = 15358827 | doi = 10.1099/jmm.0.45648-0 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

The laryngopharynx, ([[Latin]]: ''pars laryngea pharyngis''), also known as '''hypopharynx''', is the [[Caudal (anatomical term)|caudal]] part of the pharynx; it is the part of the throat that connects to the esophagus. It lies inferior to the epiglottis and extends to the location where this common pathway diverges into the respiratory ([[larynx|laryngeal]]) and digestive ([[Esophagus|esophageal]]) pathways. At that point, the laryngopharynx is continuous with the esophagus posteriorly. The esophagus conducts food and fluids to the stomach; air enters the larynx anteriorly. During swallowing, food has the "right of way", and air passage temporarily stops. Corresponding roughly to the area located between the 4th and 6th [[cervical vertebrae]], the superior boundary of the laryngopharynx is at the level of the [[hyoid bone]]. The laryngopharynx includes three major sites: the [[pyriform sinus]], postcricoid area, and the posterior pharyngeal wall. Like the oropharynx above it, the laryngopharynx serves as a passageway for food and air and is lined with a [[stratified squamous epithelium]]. It is innervated by the [[pharyngeal plexus of vagus nerve|pharyngeal plexus]] and by the [[recurrent laryngeal nerve]].

[[Waldeyer's tonsillar ring]] is an anatomical term collectively describing the annular arrangement of lymphoid tissue in the pharynx. Waldeyer's ring circumscribes the naso- and oropharynx, with some of its tonsillar tissue located above and some below the soft palate (and to the back of the oral cavity). It is believed that Waldeyer's ring prevents the invasion of microorganisms from going into the air and food passages and this helps in the defense mechanism of the respiratory and alimentary systems.<ref>{{Cite webnews|url=https://www.earthslab.com/anatomy/pharynx/|title=Pharynx | work = Earth's Lab |date=8 August 2018 }}</reref>

The word ''pharynx'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ær|ɪ|ŋ|k|s}}<ref>''[[OED]]'' 2nd edition, 1989.</ref><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pharynx Entry "pharynx"] in ''[http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]'', retrieved 2012-07-28.</ref>) is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] φάρυγξ ''phárynx'', meaning "throat". Its plural form is ''pharynges'' {{IPAc-en|f|ə|ˈ|r|ɪ|n|dʒ|i:|z}} or ''pharynxes'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ær|ɪ|ŋ|k|s|ə|z}}, and its adjective form is ''[[pharyngeal (disambiguation)|pharyngeal]]'' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|f|æ|r|ɪ|n|ˈ|dʒ|iː|əl|}} <small>or</small> {{IPAc-en|f|ə|ˈ|r|ɪ|n|dʒ|i|əl}}).

Pharyngeal arches are characteristic features of vertebrates whose origin can be traced back through [[chordates]] to basal [[deuterostomes]] who also share endodermal outpocketings of the pharyngeal apparatus. Similar patterns of gene expression can be detected in the developing pharynx of [[Lancelet|amphioxi]] and [[hemichordate]]s. However, the vertebrate pharynx is unique in that it gives rise to [[endoskeletal]] support through the contribution of [[neural crest]] cells.<ref name="pmid23020903">{{cite journal | vauthors = Graham A, Richardson J | title = Developmental and evolutionary origins of the pharyngeal apparatus | journal = EvoDevo | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = 24 | date = October 2012 | pmid = 23020903 | pmc = 3564725 | doi = 10.1186/2041-9139-3-24 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

[[Invertebrate]]s also have a pharynx. Invertebrates with a pharynx include the [[tardigrade]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1046/j.1439-0469.2001.00140.x |title=Are the supportive structures of the tardigrade pharynx homologous throughout the entire group? |journal=Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research |volume=39 |issue=1–2 |page=1 |date=March–June 2001 | vauthors = Eibye-Jacobsen J |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[annelid]]s and [[arthropod]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Microspines in the alimentary canal of arthropoda, onychophora, annelida |journal=International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology |volume=27 |issue=4 |page=341 |date=October 1998 | vauthors = Elzinga RJ |doi=10.1016/S0020-7322(98)00027-0}}</ref> and the [[priapulida|priapulids]] (which have an eversible pharynx).<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Morse MP |date=July 1981 |title=''Meiopriapulus fijiensis'' n. gen., n. sp.: An Interstitial Priapulid from coarse sand in Fiji |journal=Transactions of the American Microscopical Society |volume =100 |issue=3 |pages=239–252 |jstor=3225549 |doi=10.2307/3225549}}</ref>

File:Prorhynchus fontinalis pharynx.jpg| Pharynx of the [[flatworm]] ''[[Prorhynchus fontinalis]]''

* [[Nasopharyngeal carcinoma]]

* [[Pharyngeal consonantaspiration]]

* [[Pharyngeal (disambiguation)consonant]]

* ''[[Saccopharynx]]'', a genus of deep-sea eel-like fishes with large mouths, distensible stomachs and long scaleless bodies

* [[TonsilSalpinx in anatomy]]

* [[Tornwaldt cystTonsil]]