What Is the Pharynx?

Pharyngeal: refers to the cavity above the esophagus after the mouth and nasal cavity. Is the common channel of diet and breathing. The passage from the mouth to the esophagus and throat. Consists of muscles and mucous membranes. The passage of food from the mouth into the esophagus, and air from the nasal cavity through the pharynx into the throat and trachea. The eustachian tube of the middle ear is also pharyngeal. Inflammation of the pharynx (pharyngitis) usually causes sore throat. The back of the mouth is a tube composed mainly of muscles and mucous membranes. It is the common pathway of the respiratory tract and digestive tract, also called the pharynx.

Pharyngeal: refers to the cavity above the esophagus after the mouth and nasal cavity. Is the common channel of diet and breathing. The passage from the mouth to the esophagus and throat. Consists of muscles and mucous membranes. The passage of food from the mouth into the esophagus, and air from the nasal cavity through the pharynx into the throat and trachea. The eustachian tube of the middle ear is also pharyngeal. Inflammation of the pharynx (pharyngitis) usually causes sore throat. The back of the mouth is a tube composed mainly of muscles and mucous membranes. It is the common pathway of the respiratory tract and digestive tract, also called the pharynx.

Chinese name

pharynx

Foreign name

pharynx

Hanyu Pinyin

yn yàn yè

Glyph

A passage connecting the mouth to the lungs and stomach

Brief introduction

Is the channel of the gas

Length

Approximately 12 to 14 cm

Physiological function

Respiratory function

Pharyngeal overview

1. Pharyngeal tonsil: located in the back of the pharyngeal fornix, often extending to the upper edge of the posterior pharyngeal wall. Its structure is similar to that of the palatine tonsil, but it is fold-like in the shallow layer and has pits, but it has fewer branches. The surface of the pharynx tonsil is covered with a layer of epithelium, which varies with age. At the embryonic stage, the epithelium of the pharyngeal tonsil is a pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium. This epithelium is still adolescent, but there are many goblet cells. After reaching adulthood, the epithelium there is interspersed with scattered stratified flat epithelium. Pharyngeal tonsils occur at the 4th month of the embryo and begin to atrophy by the age of 6 to 7 years, and then completely degenerate by the age of 10. Sometimes abnormal growth can occur in infants, called proliferative glands.

2. Pharyngeal cavity: It is the main link between the nasal cavity and the larynx cavity in the respiratory tract. It is also the only way for the digestive tract to pass from the oral cavity to the esophagus. The top wall of the pharyngeal cavity, slightly vaulted, is called the pharyngeal fornix, which is connected to the base of the occipital bone, the sphenoid body and the temporal bone. The front of the pharyngeal cavity opens into the nasal cavity, oral cavity and larynx from top to bottom. Therefore, the pharynx can be divided into three sections, with the upper part being the nose, also called the nasopharyngeal cavity; the middle part being the mouth, also called the oropharyngeal cavity; and the lower part being the throat, also called the laryngo-pharyngeal cavity. The total length of the pharynx is about 12 cm. The nose is the widest; at the base of the skull, the width of the pharynx is about 3.5 centimeters, while the larynx is the narrowest at the esophagus with a width of only 1.5 centimeters; in addition, at the junction of the three parts, they are also slightly narrowed. The posterior pharyngeal wall is wide, and the two side walls are narrow. The anterior wall has almost no real anterior wall because it passes into the three cavities of the nose, mouth, and throat. There is an irregular anterior wall only in the lower part of the pharyngeal cavity, that is, below the throat. The pharyngeal process of the larynx.

Pharyngeal anatomy

The pharynx is the common channel for digestion and breathing. The upper side is narrow and the front side is slightly flat. It is located behind the nasal cavity, mouth and throat, and in front of the neck spine. It is about 12 to 14 cm in length. Its upper end is attached to the back of the sphenoid body and the base of the occipital bone. The pharyngeal fornix, with its lower end continuing with the esophagus at the 6th cervical spine plane. The posterior wall of the pharynx is intact, with loose connective tissue separated from the anterior vertebral fascia; the anterior wall is incomplete and opens to the nasal cavity, mouth and laryngeal cavity, thereby dividing the pharynx into three parts: nose, mouth and throat.

The pharynx is located behind the nasal cavity, behind the soft palate, and communicates with the nasal cavity through the nostril forward; forward through the pharynx. Each of the two sides of the pharyngeal and nasal passages has a pharyngeal orifice of the eustachian tube, which is about 1.5 cm in front of the posterior wall of the turbinate at the back and lower side of the turbinate. The eustachian tube round pillow is surrounded at the upper and rear sides of this mouth, which is a bulge formed by the deep eustachian tube cartilage. The longitudinal deep fossa behind the round pillow is a pharyngeal recess, which is about 1 cm from the ruptured hole. Nasopharyngeal cancer cells easily spread or metastasize to the skull through this hole. On the back wall of the pharynx, there are piles of accumulated lymphoid tissue, called pharynx tonsils, which are more developed in early childhood and begin to degenerate at the age of 6-7. If the proliferation is too large, it often hinders ventilation of the nostril and even affects hearing. In the mucosa near the eustachian tube of the eustachian tube, there is an eustachian tube tonsil. The eustachian tube tonsil, the pharyngeal tonsil, the palatine tonsil, and the lingual tonsil together form a ring of lymphatic tissue, which has a defensive role.

The pharynx is between the soft palate and the upper edge of the epiglottis. The pharyngeal isthmus communicates with the oral cavity forward; the posterior wall is facing the 2nd to 3rd cervical vertebrae; The upper part of the pharyngeal is the posterior margin of the soft palate and the ptosis, the lower part is the back of the tongue, and the two sides are the palatal tongue arches. Below the level of the pharyngeal isthmus, the anterior wall of the pharynx is the root of the tongue. It is connected to the posterior epiglottis by the middle epicondyle of the epiglottis and the lateral epicondyles of the epiglottis. Two shallow depressions are formed between the three epiphyses, which are called epiglottic valleys. Sometimes foreign objects can fall. Into the valley.

The palatine tonsil is elliptical in shape, such as the lymphatic organ at the end of the little finger. It is located in the side wall of the pharynx, in the tonsil fossa between the palatopharyngeal arch and the palatopharyngeal arch, but it is not full. The space above it is called the upper tonsil fossa. Easy to stay here. The tonsils can be divided into medial side (free side), lateral side (deep side), upper pole and lower pole. The inner side faces the mouth of the pharynx and is covered with stratified flat epithelium. The epithelium sinks into the tonsil parenchyma, forming tonsil crypts of different depths. Bacteria easily breed and multiply here, forming an infection. The opening of the tonsil crypt is called the tonsil fossa. There are many lymph follicles and diffuse lymph tissues arranged in a single line around the fossa. The fibrous sac formed by the outer bread with connective tissue is called the tonsil sac. It is a derivative of the pharyngeal fascia and emits many trabeculae into the tonsil. The outer periphery of the sac is connected to the pharynx by the loose connective tissue. The tonsil capsule was peeled and removed. The lingual arch extends backwards and downwards into a triangular crest, covering the anterior and inferior parts of the tonsils, continuing with the tonsil sac.

The blood supply of the tonsils is mainly from the tonsil branch of the facial artery. There are three arteries to the lower pole of the iliac tonsil, the anterior tonsillar branch of the lingual dorsal artery, the tonsil branch of the posterior iliac artery and the tonsil branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery. The vein of the iliac tonsil is accompanied by an artery of the same name; in addition, there is a large para tonsil vein (also known as the external iliac vein) between the pharyngeal wall and the deep side of the tonsil, which runs from the soft palate to the outer side of the iliac tonsil capsule and penetrates The nasopharynx passes through the pharyngeal vein plexus into the common facial vein. Injury to this vein is the most common cause of bleeding after surgery. Lymphatic vessels are injected into the deep lateral lymph nodes of the neck, and some are injected into the jugular vein diabetic lymph nodes. Therefore, in acute tonsillitis or malignant lesions, this lymph node is often enlarged. The nerve distribution of the sacral tonsil comes from the tonsil branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve and the descending branch of the small phrenic nerve from the sphenopalatine ganglia. The former enters from the lower pole and the latter loops around the tonsil from the lower pole. Therefore, it should be infiltrated during surgery. Anesthesia can get good results.

The throat is located between the plane of the upper edge of the epiglottis and the plane of the lower edge of the annular cartilage, and continues down the esophagus. The anterior wall is the entrance to the larynx and the back of the larynx; the posterior wall faces the 4th to 6th cervical vertebrae. There is a pharyngeal epiglottis on the outside of the epiglottis, which forms the anterolateral border of the junction of the mouth and throat of the pharynx. Below this palate, the throat extends forward; the deep nests between the sides of the throat and the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage are called pear-shaped crypts, and foreign bodies swallowed easily stay in the pits. If the device penetrates the mucous membrane during the operation of removing the foreign body, it will damage the deep laryngeal nerve and the inner laryngeal branch of the laryngeal nerve, causing the mucosa in the distribution area to lose sensation. It is convenient and safe to insert an esophagoscopy along the pear-shaped recess into the esophagus for examination.

Pharyngeal structure

From the inside to the outside, it is the mucosa, submucosal tissue, muscle tissue, and adventitia. The mucous membrane of the pharynx is continuous with the mucous membranes of the eustachian tube, nasal cavity, oral cavity, and laryngeal cavity, and contains more mucous glands, especially in the nose of the pharynx. The submucosal tissue is a fibrous membrane. The thickness of the fibrous membrane in the upper pharynx is called the pharyngeal skull base fascia. It is firmly connected to the base of the occipital bone and attaches forward to the medial plate of the pterygoid and the mandibular suture of the pterygoid. Pharyngeal nodules are down, and the fibrous membrane is particularly tough, forming a pharyngeal suture, which is the place where the pharyngeal contractile muscle is attached. The pharyngeal sarcolemma is divided into two groups: one group is oblique pharyngeal contractile muscles, including three pairs of upper, middle and lower, arranged in a shingle pattern from top to bottom. A small amount of myofibrary muscle bundles originate from the wing groove, pterygoid mandibular suture, and posterior part of the mandibular hyoid line. There may be a small number of fibers to the sides of the tongue base. The constrictor muscles originate from the large and small angles of the hyoid bone and the lower end of the hyoid bone ligament in a styloid process. They are fan-shaped and reach the posterior pharyngeal wall. The muscle bundles of three pairs of contractile muscles meet in the middle of the posterior pharyngeal wall and stop at the pharyngeal suture. They shrink together to shrink the pharyngeal cavity. When swallowing food, the muscle bundles of each contractile muscle contract from top to bottom in order to squeeze the bolus into the esophagus. The other group is the longitudinal pharyngeal muscle, including the pharyngeal muscle, the eustachian tube pharyngeal muscle, and the styloid pharynx, starting from the sacrum, the eustachian tube of the eustachian tube, and the styloid process, mostly on the inside of the pharyngeal constrictor, close to The pharyngeal fibrous membrane descends and stops scattered on the pharyngeal wall. When the pharyngeal muscle is contracted, the pharyngeal, larynx and tongue roots are pressed upwards and backwards, so that the epiglottis closes the throat, and the bolus can pass above the epiglottis and enter the esophagus, thereby coordinating the swallowing action. The pharyngeal epithelium is the connective tissue surrounding the pharyngeal muscle layer and is part of the deep cervical fascia. There are honeycomb tissues on the back and sides of the pharynx wall, which can be divided into the posterior pharynx and pharynx space according to its position; the pharynx space is located between the pharynx wall and the anterior vertebral fascia, starting from the base of the skull and going down to the mediastinum. The sides are separated from the pharyngeal space by slightly thin connective tissue membranes. Inflammation of the tonsils, eustachian tube, and the back of the mouth and nose can cause post-pharyngeal abscesses through the lymphatic pathway. Because the posterior pharyngeal space often has a septum that divides it into two parts, the abscess is often biased to one side, and the mediastinum can also be delayed. The pharyngeal space is located between the superior pharyngeal constrictor, the internal pterygoid muscle and the parotid gland, starting from the skull base and down to the large angle of the hyoid bone. The styloid process and the muscles from which it originates divide this space into two parts. The anterior part contains a few lymph nodes and ascending blood vessels, which is the way for tonsil inflammation to spread to the pharyngeal space; the posterior part contains large neck blood vessels, nerves, and deep cervical lymph nodes (upper group).

Vascular, lymphatic and neuropharyngeal arteries are mainly ascending pharyngeal and sacroiliac arteries from the external carotid artery. There is a venous plexus deep in the mucosa before and after the lower part of the pharynx. The venous plexus of the anterior wall is located behind the circular cartilage plate and the ring diaphragm. The venous plexus of the posterior wall is above the esophagus, the inner surface of the pharyngeal constrictor. When the blood vessels are congested, the mucosa swells, and resistance can be encountered during intubation. The pharyngeal venous plexus returns into the internal jugular vein and is injected upwards into the wing plexus. Lymph: See the "pharyngeal lymphatics" section. Nerves mainly come from the pharyngeal plexus, which is composed of branches of the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and sympathetic nerves, and contains motor and sensory fibers.