The larynx and Pharynx Flashcards
What are the inferior and superior borders of the pharynx?
Long muscular tube that serves as common pathway for the beginning of the digestive and respiratory tracts. It extends from the pharyngeal tubercle of the occipital bone, to the level of C6 Where it is continuous with the esophagus
What are the three outermost pharyngeal muscles that help with swallowing
? What is the fusion of these three muscles at the midline called? What is their orientation? What do they do?
The superior, middle, and inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscles. The median pharyngeal raphe. They are all circumferential oriented. They contract serially to propel the bolus of food from the oral cavity to the esophagus.
What are the three inner pharyngeal muscles, how are they oriented? where do they insert? and what do they do?
salpingopharyngeus, palatopharyngeus, Stylopharyngeus. They all run longitudinally and elevate the pharynx and larynx during swallowing to decrease the distance food must travel and they also widen the lumen. They all insert on the thyroid cartilage.
What are the superior and inferior borders of the nasopahrynx?
Sits behind the nose and above the soft palate. The superior aspect is the pharyngeal tonsils or adenoids. The auditory tube opens on the lateral walls.
What are the superior and inferior borders of the oropharynx? What lymph structures do they contain?
Sits beneath the soft palate and anterior and superior to the epiglotis. contains palatine tonsils
What are the borders of the laryngeal pharynx?
It is posterior to the laryngeal cartilages. it extends from the upper border of the epiglotis to the lower border of the carcoid cartilage. The lateral wall is the thyrohyoid membrane and thyroid cartilage,
What are the recesses on either side of the larynx in the laryngeal pharynx? What is their clinical relevance?
the piriform recesses which are important because abrasion could cause injury to the internal and inferior laryngeal nerves.
Describe the location of the palatine tonsils
They sit in the tonsillar bed which is a depression between the palatoglossal and palatopahryngeus muscles which are covered by mucosa and may also be referred to as their respective folds
What blood vessels are involved in bleeding during a tonsillectomy?
tonsillar branches of the ascending pharyngeal and facial arteries and the large external palatine vein.
What nerve needs to be taken into consideration during a tonsillectomy?
The glossopharyngeal nerve runs on the lateral wall of the the pharynx, just deep to the tonsils. Post-operative edema may lead to transient loss of taste.
What part of the tongue does the glossopharyngeal directly innervate and what types of fibers does it carry?
The posterior 1/3 and it carries special sensory for taste and generally sensory (gag reflex)
What are the five muscles of the soft palate? Where do they all insert? How are each innervated?
Palatoglossus, palatopharyngeuas, levator palati, tensor palati, and musculus uvulae all insert into the centrally located palatine aponeurosis. All are innervated by vagus except for tensor palati (CN V3)
What is a test for the integrity of the pharyngeal branch of the vagus
ask you patient to go ahhh and see that the uvula is hanging in the center.
What happens during the first stage of swallowing?
Food is molded into bolus and propelled toward oropharynx by extrinsic tongue muscles. The suprahyoid muscles elevate and fix the hyoid bone in order to stabilize the larynx.
Second Stage of swallowing
The soft palate is tensed and elevated, closing off the nasopharynx. Larynx and pharynx are elevated. epiglottis is pulled posteriorly to cover larynx and pharyngeal constrictors contract serially.
Third stage of swallowing
inferior pharyngeal constrictos relax allowing food to enter esophagus. Infrahyoid muscles control the descent of the larynx and stabilize the hyoid bone.
