Pharynx

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Pharynx
Head and inner neck
Pharynx
Details
Part of	Throat
System	Respiratory system, digestive system
Artery	Pharyngeal branches of ascending pharyngeal artery, ascending palatine, descending palatine, pharyngeal branches of inferior thyroid
Vein	Pharyngeal plexus
Nerve	Pharyngeal plexus of vagus nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve, maxillary nerve, mandibular nerve
Identifiers
Latin	pharynx
Greek	φάρυγξ (phárynx)
MeSH	D010614
TA98	A05.3.01.001
TA2	2855
FMA	46688
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The pharynx (pl.: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the esophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs respectively). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its structure varies across species. The pharynx carries food to the esophagus and air to the larynx. The flap of cartilage called the epiglottis stops food from entering the larynx.

In humans, the pharynx is part of the digestive system and the conducting zone of the respiratory system. (The conducting zone—which also includes the nostrils of the nose, the larynx, trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles—filters, warms, and moistens air and conducts it into the lungs).^[1] The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx (hypopharynx).

In humans, two sets of pharyngeal muscles form the pharynx and determine the shape of its lumen. They are arranged as an inner layer of longitudinal muscles and an outer circular layer.