Esophagus, commonly known as the gullet is the passageway where peristalsis pushes food to stomach.
The digestive system consists of the mouth, ESOPHAGUS (contained in Thoracic cavity), stomach, small intestine, and large intestine.
Esophagus, approximately 25 cm long muscular tube connects the pharynx (passage shared by the digestive and respiratory systems.) to the stomach. It is a hollow muscular tube consisting of both skeletal and smooth muscle.
Esophagus has 2 muscle layers:
1) The inner circular layer wraps around the esophagus
2) The outer longitudinal layer runs the length of the tube
Function of esophagus:
Esophagus moves food from pharynx to stomach. During the process of swallowing (known scientifically as deglutition), food usually enters the esophagus, the muscular tube which moves food into the stomach, as other possible avenues are blocked.
