UNLV School of Medicine Virtual Anatomy Lab

SECTRA TABLE WORK: Page 3 of 4

Let's look at the swallowing sequence on a series of radiographs taken as part of a video swallowing study.

  1. Chewing and moisurizing food and preparing a bolous of food for swallowing
 baseline
  1. Elevation and closure of the nasopharynx. Try to identify the position of the tongue and other muscles in the naso and oropharynx.
 elevation
  1. Moving of the bolus of food to the oropharynx. Notice the dark material moved to the oropharynx.
 bolus
  1. The dark material has moved further down the oropharynx.
  2. Constriction of the pharynx and downward forcing of the food bolous.
  3. Closure of the laynx as the food passes through the layngopharynx.
 epiglottus
Question

Can you spot the epigottis in the above image?