208 



ELEMENTS OF PHYSIOLOGY 



in length and lies against the spinal column. It is 

 commonly called the throat. There is an air passage 

 from nose to lungs and a food passage from mouth to 

 stomach. They cross each other, and the intersection is 

 called the pharynx. There are seven openings from the 



pharynx : one to the mouth, 

 one below the mouth into the 

 trachea, one behind the trachea 

 into the gullet, and two pairs of 

 openings in the upper pharynx ; 

 one of these pairs is to the 

 nasal passages, and the other 

 pair is into the Eustachian 

 tubes, which lead to the ears. 

 When swallowing, all of the 

 openings close but the one to 

 the mouth and the one to the 

 gullet (see Plate VII). 



370. The upper part of the 

 pharynx, and thus the openings 

 to the nose and ears, can be 

 closed by raising the tip of the 

 soft palate, or uvula, against 

 the spinal column (Fig. i6O. 



FIG. 165. The Mouth wide open 



to show the Tongue and Palate. Sudden laughter or coughing 



Uv, uvula; Tn, tonsils; C.p., taste pa- while Swallowing may CaUSC 



pillae; F.p. t taste papillae. On the , e . j 



right side, branches of the fifth nerve the Soft palate tO relax, and 



ninth to the then a port i on Q f t h e food Or 



drink is sometimes forced into 

 the nose. The opening to the windpipe can be closed 

 in three ways: by the vocal cords approaching one 

 another ; or by the descent of the epiglottis, the carti- 

 laginous lid of the larynx ; or third, by the tongue 

 arching itself back over the windpipe. The opening 

 from the mouth, called the fauces, can be closed by the 



