The esophagus is an important part of our digestive system. It’s like a muscular tube that connects our throat to our stomach. It sits behind our windpipe and heart, helping to move food from our mouth to our stomach.
The esophagus is about 8 to 10 inches long and around 3/4 of an inch wide. It runs in front of our spine and stretches from our throat to our stomach, passing through a muscle called the diaphragm along the way.
When we swallow food, it first passes by a flap called the epiglottis. This flap covers our windpipe to make sure food doesn’t go down the wrong way. The top part of the esophagus stays closed until our brain tells it to open, letting food enter the esophagus.
Once food is in the esophagus, a cool process called peristalsis starts. This is how food gets pushed down to the stomach using two types of muscles:
The esophagus has four layers that help with peristalsis:
Peristalsis keeps going until the food reaches the lower esophageal sphincter, which opens to let the food drop into the stomach. After the food is in the stomach, this sphincter closes tightly to stop stomach acid from coming back up into the esophagus.
The esophagus is an amazing part of our body that helps us digest food. By learning how it works, we can see why it’s important to eat healthy and take care of our bodies to keep this organ working well.
Peristalsis in Action: Try a fun experiment to understand how peristalsis works! Take a small, empty plastic bottle and a marble. Imagine the bottle is your esophagus and the marble is the food. Squeeze the bottle from the bottom to the top, just like the circular muscles in your esophagus. Watch how the marble moves up and down. Discuss with a friend or family member how this is similar to how food moves through your esophagus.
Observe and Draw: After learning about the esophagus, draw a picture of the digestive system, highlighting the esophagus. Label the different parts, such as the throat, esophagus, and stomach. Use different colors to show the circular and longitudinal muscles. Share your drawing with your class and explain how the esophagus helps in digestion.
Question Time: Think about what happens if the lower esophageal sphincter doesn’t close properly. Discuss with your classmates or write down your thoughts on how this might affect digestion and what problems it could cause. Why is it important for this sphincter to work correctly?
