- The esophagus, part of the digestive tract, is a tube that connects the throat with the stomach. It lies between the trachea (windpipe) and the spine. In an adult, the esophagus is about 10 inches long. When a person swallows, the muscular walls of the esophagus contract to push food down into the stomach. Glands in the lining of the esophagus produce mucus, which keeps the passageway moist and makes swallowing easier. It is commonly referred to as the "gullet."
* * *The portion of the digestive canal between the pharynx and stomach. It is about 25 cm long and consists of three parts: the cervical part, from the cricoid cartilage to the thoracic inlet; the thoracic part, from the thoracic inlet to the diaphragm; and the abdominal part, below the diaphragm to the cardiac opening of the stomach. [G. oisophagos, gullet]
* * *esoph·a·gus or chiefly Brit oe·soph·a·gus i-'säf-ə-gəs n, pl -gi -.gī, -.jī a muscular tube that in adult humans is about nine inches (23 centimeters) long and passes from the pharynx down the neck between the trachea and the spinal column and behind the left bronchus where it pierces the diaphragm slightly to the left of the middle line and joins the cardiac end of the stomach
* * *esoph·a·gus (ə-sofґə-gəs) [Gr. oisophagos, from oisein to carry + phagēma food] the musculomembranous passage extending down from the pharynx and emptying into the stomach at the cardiac opening, passing through the diaphragm at the esophageal hiatus. It is divided anatomically into three parts; see pars cervicalis oesophagi, pars thoracica oesophagi, and pars abdominalis oesophagi. The official TA spelling is oesophagus. Called also gullet. esophageal adj
Esophagus, comprising cervical, thoracic, and abdominal parts.
Medical dictionary. 2011.