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There are voluntary, or deliberate, actions involved in swallowing, as well as involuntary or reflexive actions involved in swallowing.
The three phases of swallowing are described below:
The Oral Phase
Swallowing starts with the oral phase. This phase begins when food is placed in the mouth and moistened with saliva. Moistened food is called a food bolus.
The Pharyngeal Phase
Because the mouth and throat serve as an entryway for both food and air, the mouth provides a route for air to get into the windpipe and into the lungs, and it also provides a route for food to get into the esophagus and into the stomach.
The Esophageal Phase
As food leaves the pharynx, it enters the esophagus, a tube-like muscular structure that leads food into the stomach due to its powerful coordinated muscular contractions. The passage of food through the esophagus during this phase requires the coordinated action of thevagus nerve, the glossopharyngeal nerve, and nerve fibers from the sympathetic nervous system.
The esophagus has two important muscles that open and close reflexively as the food bolus is brought down during swallowing. These muscles, called sphincters, allow the food bolus to flow in a forward direction while preventing it from going in the wrong direction (regurgitation).
Both esophageal sphincters, first the upper, and then the lower, open in response to the pressure of the food bolus and close after the food bolus passes.
The upper esophageal sphincter prevents food or saliva from being regurgitated back into the mouth, while the lower esophageal sphincter ensures that food remains in the stomach, preventing regurgitation back into the esophagus.In doing so, the esophageal sphincters serve as a physical barrier to regurgitated food.
Dysphagia
In general, healthy people can swallow with very little deliberate thought and effort. If the nervous system is disrupted due to astrokeor another disease, then problems with swallowing can occur.Swallowing difficulties are referred to as dysphagia.Dysphagiacan lead to problems such as choking, lack of appetite and weight loss, and aspiration pneumonia.
A Word From Verywell
If you have experienced a stroke or another neurological illness, you may undergo a swallowing evaluation to determine whether you have dysphagia. If you have signs of dysphagia, you will need to have speech and swallow therapy so that your swallowing muscles can have the chance to improve as much as possible.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Your digestive system & how it works.Finsterer J, Grisold W.Disorders of the lower cranial nerves.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2015;6(3):377-391. doi:10.4103/0976-3147.158768Parkinson’s Europe Association.Motor symptoms.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Dysphagia.Mousa H, Hassan M.Gastroesophageal reflux disease.Pediatr Clin North Am. 2017;64(3):487-505. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2017.01.003
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Your digestive system & how it works.Finsterer J, Grisold W.Disorders of the lower cranial nerves.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2015;6(3):377-391. doi:10.4103/0976-3147.158768Parkinson’s Europe Association.Motor symptoms.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Dysphagia.Mousa H, Hassan M.Gastroesophageal reflux disease.Pediatr Clin North Am. 2017;64(3):487-505. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2017.01.003
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Your digestive system & how it works.Finsterer J, Grisold W.Disorders of the lower cranial nerves.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2015;6(3):377-391. doi:10.4103/0976-3147.158768Parkinson’s Europe Association.Motor symptoms.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Dysphagia.Mousa H, Hassan M.Gastroesophageal reflux disease.Pediatr Clin North Am. 2017;64(3):487-505. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2017.01.003
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Your digestive system & how it works.
Finsterer J, Grisold W.Disorders of the lower cranial nerves.J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2015;6(3):377-391. doi:10.4103/0976-3147.158768
Parkinson’s Europe Association.Motor symptoms.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Dysphagia.
Mousa H, Hassan M.Gastroesophageal reflux disease.Pediatr Clin North Am. 2017;64(3):487-505. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2017.01.003
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