The Pharynx Flashcards
What are the borders of the nasopharynx?
Base of the skull to the upper border of the soft palate, posterior is C1 and C2 and anterior is the nasal cavity
What can happen when the pharyngeal tonsils become chronially inflammed?
They can block the nasopharynx and disrupt breathing, and in may block the eustachain tube causing middle ear pathology, and can also harbour infection that can spread to the sinuses and the middle ear cavity
What are the borders of the oropharynx?
The soft palate to the superior border of the epiglottis, and the vertebral bodies of C2 and C3 lie posteriorly, .
What lymph nodes would be inflammed in tonsilitis?
The jugulo digastric lymph nodes
From which vein will bleeding occur possibly in a tonsilectomy?
Bleeding can occur from the external palatine vein and secondarily
What are the borders of the laryngopharynx?
Extends from the level of the epiglottis to the oespghuaus at the lovwe border of the circoid cartilage, with the layrnx anterior and the vertebral bodies of C4, C5 and C6 posteriorly
What is the role of the piriform fossa?
On each side of the laryngeal inlet there is a small depression, and allows food to go round the larynx so that you don’t breath in your food
What is the general action of the longitudianl muscles?
Shorten and widen the pharync and elevate the layrnx during swallowing
What are the names of the longitudinal muscles?
The stylopharyngeus, the palatopharyngeus and the salpingopharyngeus
What are the features of the innervation of the longituidnal muscles?
The stlyopharungeus is innervated by the glossopharyngeus nerve whereas the palatopharyngeus and the salpingopharyngeus are innervated by the vagus nerves
What is the role of the pharyngeal constrictors?
Found sequnetially from superior to inferior to constrict the lumen and propel the bolus of food inferiolry in the lumen
What is the innervation of the pharyngeal constictors?
All innervated by the vagus nerve, CNX
Where is the superior pharyngeal constrictor located?
The oropharynx
Where is the middle pharyngeal constictor located?
The laryngopharynx
Which are the two parts of the inferior pharyngeal constrictor?
The thryopharyngeal part and the cricopharyngeal part
What is the point of weakness between the thropahryngeal part and the cricopharyngeal part of the constrcitors?
Killians dehisance
What is the clincal importance of killans dehisance?
If there is incodirantion of muscles during swallowing, increased pressure can cause the pharyngela mucosa to herniate through killians dehisance, froming a pharyngeal pouch, and this can cause dyspahid reguriation of food and hailtosis
What is the pharyngeal plexus?
Located mainly on the surface of the middle constricot muscle, and contains the vagus, glossopharyngeal and sumpatheic fibres of the superior cervical ganglion
What is the innervation to the motor muscles of the pharynx?
The vagus nerves innervates all muscles appart from the stylopharyngeus
What is the sensory innnervation of the pharynx?
The nasopharynx- maxillary nerve
Oropharynx- (glossopharyngela nerve
laryngopahrynce (vagus nerve)
What are some of the causes of dysphagia?
Stroke, progessive neurological disease and parkinsons or MS
Where is a commo site for foreign bodies to lodge?
The piriform fossa
Where would you find the thryoid galnd?
Located in the anterior neck, spanning between the C5 and T1 verebar, wrapped around the circoid catilage and the superior trachela rings, is the visercal compatment of the neck and is bound by the pretracheal fascia
Where does the blood supply of the thryoid come from?
The superior thryoid atery, which is the first brach of the external cartoid artery that has superior and anterior portion, and the inferior thryoid arter that arises from the thyocervical trunk and supplies the postero- inferor aspect
What are the suprahyoid muscles ?
The stylohyoid, the digastric, the mylohyodi adn the genoidhyoid
What are the infrahoyid muscles?
The sternohyoid, the omohyoid, the sternothryoid and the thyohoyoid
