ABSTRACT
This, the lowest part of the pharynx, encompasses the larynx on three sides. It is the food channel connecting the mouth and oropharynx with the oesophagus. Posteriorly and on either side it is enwrapped by the constrictor muscles. There are three of these (superior, middle and inferior), roughly resembling glasses piled one inside the other, except that they are attached in front to the skull base, the mandible, the hyoid bone and the thyroid and cricoid cartilages so they do not form a complete circle (Figure 83).
