Esophagus (Œsophagus)
Educational content only — not medical advice.
Anatomy
A ~25 cm muscular tube from pharynx to stomach, piercing the diaphragm at T10; the only GI segment with no absorptive role. Three constrictions mark it — pharyngeal, aortic (crossed by the arch), and diaphragmatic — and it is supplied by inferior thyroid, oesophageal and left gastric vessels with autonomic oesophageal plexus innervation.
Clinical notes
The diaphragmatic opening is the classic site of sliding hiatus hernia and reflux oesophagitis; caustic ingestion leads to late stricture, squamous carcinoma (the commonest type worldwide) favours its middle and lower thirds, while adenocarcinoma arises at the cardia.
Related structures
Educational references
FAQ
What is the role of the Esophagus?
A ~25 cm muscular tube from pharynx to stomach, piercing the diaphragm at T10; the only GI segment with no absorptive role. Three constrictions mark it — pharyngeal, aortic (crossed by the arch), and diaphragmatic — and it is supplied by inferior thyroid, oesophageal and left gastric vessels with autonomic oesophageal plexus innervation.
Why is the Esophagus clinically important?
The diaphragmatic opening is the classic site of sliding hiatus hernia and reflux oesophagitis; caustic ingestion leads to late stricture, squamous carcinoma (the commonest type worldwide) favours its middle and lower thirds, while adenocarcinoma arises at the cardia.
Source & license
BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). license details