What Is the Upper Esophageal Sphincter?
Low esophageal sphincter (LES). There is no obvious sphincter at the lower end of the esophagus and the junction of the stomach, but there is a high-pressure region about 1 ~ 3cm wide in this area. The LES pressure at normal resting is 10 ~ 30mmHg, which is 5-10mmHg higher than the internal pressure It acts as a barrier to prevent gastric contents from flowing back into the esophagus and acts as a physiological sphincter.
Subesophageal sphincter
- Chinese name
- Subesophageal sphincter
- Foreign name
- low esophageal sphincter
- Short name
- les
- Nature
- noun
- Low esophageal sphincter (LES). There is no obvious sphincter at the lower end of the esophagus and the junction of the stomach, but there is a high-pressure region about 1 ~ 3cm wide in this area. The LES pressure at normal resting is 10 ~ 30mmHg, which is 5-10mmHg higher than the internal pressure It acts as a barrier to prevent gastric contents from flowing back into the esophagus and acts as a physiological sphincter.
- When the food enters the esophagus, it stimulates the mechanoreceptors on the wall of the esophagus, which can cause the lower sphincter to relax, allowing food to enter the stomach. After the esophagus enters the stomach, the lower esophagus sphincter contracts, restoring its tension at rest, which prevents the stomach contents from flowing back into the esophagus.
- When the intermuscular plexus in the lower part of the esophagus is lost, the esophageal sphincter cannot relax, causing the esophagus to be blocked from entering the stomach, which causes symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, pain under the sternum, and food reflux. [1]