esophagus

Information about esophagus

Head and neck.
Digestive organs. (Esophagus is #1)
Latinœsophagus
subject #245 1144
Arteryesophageal arteries
Veinesophageal veins
Nerveceliac ganglia, vagus[1]
PrecursorForegut
MeSH Esophagus
Dorlands/Elsevier e_16/12343479
The esophagus (also spelled oesophagus/œsophagus, Greek οἰσοφάγος), or gullet is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. In humans, the esophagus is continuous with the laryngeal part of the pharynx at the level of the C6 vertebra.

Functioning

Food is passed through the esophagus by using the process of peristalsis. Specifically, it connects the pharynx, which is the body cavity that is common to the digestive factory and respiratory system with the stomach, where the second stage of digestion is initiated.

The esophagus is lined with mucous membrane, and is more deeply lined with muscle that acts with peristaltic action to move swallowed food down to the stomach.

Histology

The layers of the esophagus are as follows:[2] submucosa'': Contains the mucous secreting glands (esophageal glands), and connective structures termed papillae.

Gastroesophageal junction

The junction between the esophagus and the stomach (the gastroesophageal junction or GE junction) is not actually considered a valve, although it is sometimes called the cardiac sphincter, cardia or cardias, but is actually more of a stricture.

Etymology

It derives from Greek; hiοiσω -oeso, future tense of the verb φερω-to bring and from the verb έφαγον,-phagus, past tense of τρώγω-to eat. The word "esophagus" is the result of the "o" being dropped from the oe (or œ) in "oesophagus". This vowel does not exist in English but in most other Indoeuropean languages as œ, ö, or ø. In mostly the rest of the non-US world, and according standard international latin and greek medical nomemclature, the spelling oesophagus (similarly œsophagus, ösofagus, or øsofagus) is used.

Esophageal diseases and conditions

Many people experience a burning sensation in their chest occasionally, caused by stomach acids refluxing into the esophagus, normally called heartburn. Extended exposure to heartburn may erode the lining of the esophagus, leading potentially to Barrett's esophagus which is associated an increased risk of adenocarcinoma most commonly found in the distal one-third of the oesophagus.

Some people also experience a sensation known as globus esophagus, where it feels as if a ball is lodged in the lower part of the esophagus.

The following are additional diseases and conditions that affect the oesophagus:

Additional images


H&E stain of biopsy of normal esophagus showing the stratified squamous cell epithelium

Layers of the esophagus.

Mid esophageal mass

Stomach

Accessory digestive system.

Organs of the digestive tract.

Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra.

Transverse section of thorax, showing relations of pulmonary artery.

Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx.

The position and relation of the esophagus in the cervical region and in the posterior mediastinum. Seen from behind. |

Section of the human esophagus. Moderately magnified.

Microscopic shot of a cross section of human gastro-esophageal junction wall.


References

External links

 •  • [ e]
Anatomy of torso, digestive system: Gastrointestinal tract
Upper GI: to stomachMouth • Pharynx (nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx) • Esophagus • Crop
Upper GI: stomachrugae - gastric pits - cardia/gland - fundus/gland - pylorus/gland - pyloric antrum - greater curvature - lesser curvature
Lower GI: intestinesSmall intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum) • Vermiform appendix • Ileocecal valve - Large intestine: Cecum • Colon (ascending colon, hepatic flexure, transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon)
Lower GI: after intestinesRectum (Houston valve, rectal ampulla, pectinate line) • Anal canal (anal valves, anal sinuses, anal columns) - Anus: Sphincter ani internus muscle • Sphincter ani externus muscle
Lower GI: continuousGALT: Peyer's patches • M cells - intestinal villus • crypts of Lieberkhn • circular folds • taenia coli • haustra • epiploic appendix
Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Arteries are muscular blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.[1] All arteries, with the exception of the pulmonary and umbilical arteries, carry oxygenated blood.

The circulatory system is extremely important for sustaining life.
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Esophageal arteries (arteries supplying the esophagus) can refer to:
  • Esophageal branches of thoracic part of aorta
  • Esophageal branches of inferior thyroid artery
  • Esophageal branches of left gastric artery

External links

  • a_62/12158037

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vein is a blood vessel that carries blood toward the heart. The majority of veins in the body carry low-oxygen blood from the tissues back to the heart; the exceptions being the pulmonary and umbilical veins which both carry oxygenated blood.
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The Esophageal veins drain blood from the esophagus to the inferior thyroid vein.

See also

  • Esophageal varices

External links

  • Esophageal+veins at eMedicine Dictionary
  • Histology at OU 49_08

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A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of axons (the long, slender projection of a neuron). Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is technically imprecise since many neurons do not form nerves, and nerves also include the glial cells that
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The Celiac Ganglia (semilunar ganglia) are two large irregularly shaped masses having the appearance of lymph glands and placed one on either side of the middle line in front of the crura of the diaphragm close to the suprarenal glands, that on the right side being placed behind
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The vagus nerve (also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X) is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem (within the medulla oblongata) and extends, through the jugular foramen, down below the head, to the
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Embryology is the study of the development of an embryo. An embryo is defined as any vertebrate in a stage before birth or hatching. Embryology refers to the development of the egg cell (zygote) after fertilization and the differentiation of cells into tissues and organs.
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The foregut is the anterior part of the alimentary canal, from the mouth to the duodenum at the entrance of the bile duct. At this point it is continuous with the midgut. Pain in the foregut is typically referred to the epigastric region, just below the intersection of the ribs.
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Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
 Cyprus
 European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
 European Union
 Italy
 Turkey
Regulated by:
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organ (Latin: organum, "instrument, tool") is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues. The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ.
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Vertebrata
Cuvier, 1812

Classes and Clades

See below
Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns.
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MUSCLE (multiple sequence comparison by log-expectation) is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.
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The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the neck and throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and cranial, or superior, to the esophagus, larynx, and trachea.
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In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. The word stomach is derived from the Latin stomachus, which derives from the Greek word
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The larynx (plural larynges), colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the trachea and sound production.
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The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the neck and throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and cranial, or superior, to the esophagus, larynx, and trachea.
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The Vertebral Column (singular: vertebra) are the individual irregular bones that make up the spinal column (aka ischis) — a flexuous and flexible column.
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Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of smooth muscles to propel contents through the digestive tract. The word is derived from New Latin and comes from the Greek peristaltikos, peristaltic, from peristellein, "to wrap around," and stellein
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The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the neck and throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and cranial, or superior, to the esophagus, larynx, and trachea.
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The mucous membranes (or mucosae; singular: mucosa) are linings of mostly endodermal origin, covered in epithelium, and are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organs.
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MUSCLE (multiple sequence comparison by log-expectation) is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.
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The mucous membranes (or mucosae; singular: mucosa) are linings of mostly endodermal origin, covered in epithelium, and are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organs.
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squamous epithelium (from Latin squama, "scale") is an epithelium characterised by its most superficial layer consisting of flat, scale-like cells called squamous cells.
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For the band, see .
Saliva is the watery and usually frothy substance produced in the mouths of humans and some animals. In animals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the salivary glands.
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Mucous may refer to:
  • The adjectival form of mucus, a slippery secretion of the lining of various membranes in the body
  • Mucous membrane, a membrane which secretes mucus

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The lamina propria is a constituent of the moist linings known as mucous membranes or mucosa, which line various tubes in the body (such as the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the urogenital tract).
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