Pharynx Flashcards
What are the boundaries of the nasopharynx?
Posterior nasal cavity, superior to soft palate, occipital bone and atlas
What are the contents of the nasopharynx?
Eustachian tube (torus tubaris), pharyngeal tonsil (adenoid)
What are the boundaries of the oropharynx?
The soft palate, the base of the tongue, the faucial pillars (folds), superior epiglottis
What are the contents of the oropharynx?
Palatine tonsil, tonsillar bed
What are the boundaries of the laryngopharynx?
Posterior of the larynx, inferior to superior epiglottis, continues with the esophagus
What is the piriform recess?
It is the space separated from the larynx by the aryepiglottic folds where food can be trapped
What are the two longitudinal pharyngeal wall muscles and what are their innervations?
Palatopharyngeus–CN X
Stylopharyngeus–CN IX
What structures run between the skull and the superior constrictor?
Eustachian tube, tensor and levator palatine muscles
What structures run between the superior and middle constrictors?
Stylopharyngeus, CN IX, Tonsilar artery
What structures run between the middle and inferior constrictors?
Superior laryngeal artery, internal laryngeal nerve
What structures run between the inferior constrictor and the esophagus?
Recurrent laryngeal nerve, inferior laryngeal artery
What are the primary sensory innervations of the pharynx?
Most sensation–CN IX
Pharyngeal roof/soft palate–CN V2
Laryngeal inlet–CN X
