Core Curriculum Syllabus: Review of Anatomy - Oral Cavity and Pharynx Designed for articulation in speech and mastication of food, the oral cavity also functions as an alternate airway. A. Boundaries
B. Contents
A. Nasopharynx - extends from posterior choanae of the nose to the soft palate. Related posteriorly to the base of the skull. Contains adenoid tissue and the orifices of the eustachian tubes. This area is not accessible to direct inspection and must be examined by mirrors or optical instruments. B. Oropharynx - that portion which is visible via the mouth. Extends from soft palate superiorly to vallecula inferiorly. Posterior and lateral walls are formed by the superior and middle pharyngeal constrictors. C. The Palatine Tonsils are lymphoid aggregates between the mucosal folds created by the palatoglossus and palatopharyngeus muscles. They are covered by stratified squamous epithelium, which continues down into deep crypts. Tonsils vary widely in size and may be sessile or pedunculated. D. Hypopharynx - Is the portion of the pharynx that lies inferior to the tip of epiglottis. The posterior and lateral walls are formed by middle and inferior pharyngeal constrictors. It extends inferiorly to the cricopharyngeus, where the pharynx empties into the cervical esophagus. Anteriorly, it extends from the valleculae and contains the epiglottis and the larynx. Lateral to the larynx are the pyriform sinuses, two mucosal pouches whose medial borders are the lateral walls of the larynx. The posterior aspect of the hypopharynx contains the posterior pharyngeal wall and post cricoid mucosa.
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