This side view of the head highlights structures involved with swallowing.
That includes the tongue, teeth, epiglottis, and esophagus.
The teeth grind and chop food into tiny pieces
while the glands in the mouth moisten it with saliva.
Then the tongue pushes the moistened food, or bolus,
to the back of the throat and down into the esophagus,
which leads to the stomach.
Let's watch the swallowing process again.
First, the tongue pushes the food into the throat.
Next, the epiglottis, a small but important flap of tissue, folds over the voice box
at the top of the windpipe. This keeps food
from going down the wrong way.
Finally, the esophagus contracts and moves food toward the stomach.
{Burp}
Excuse me.