the epiglottis is the common name of the pharynx.
the epiglottis is the common name of the pharynx.
what is the common name of the pharynx?
the epiglottis
the pharynx is a part of the conducting zone of the respiratory system and also a part of the digestive system. it is the part of the throat immediately behind the nasal cavity at the back of the mouth and above the esophagus and larynx. the pharynx is made up of three parts. the lower two parts—the oropharynx and the laryngopharynx are involved in the digestive system. the laryngopharynx connects to the esophagus and it serves as a passageway for both air and food. air enters the larynx anteriorly but anything swallowed has priority and the passage of air is temporarily blocked. the pharynx is innervated by the pharyngeal plexus of the vagus nerve. muscles in the pharynx push the food into the esophagus. the pharynx joins the esophagus at the oesophageal inlet which is located behind the cricoid cartilage.
human digestive system
the ecology of "polyclinum planum" is not well documented, though like almost all other tunicates it makes its living by filter feeding, also known as suspension feeding. rows of small cilia-lined openings called stigmata are found in the wall of this each zooid's large pharynx. beating of cilia pulls water and small particles into the pharynx through the incurrent oral siphon. at the same time a long thin structure called the endostyle that is located along the ventral wall of the pharynx secretes a thin sheet of mucous that is continuously drawn dorsally along the inner walls of the pharynx. water that enters the pharynx passes through the mucous sheet but particles including phytoplankton, detritus, etc., become trapped in the mucus which is continuously rolled into a rope and swallowed by the zooid at the dorsal margin of the pharynx. water exiting the pharynx enters a space called the atrium and then exits the body via the cloacal siphon (excurrent opening). it's not a particularly exciting life style, but it's a living.
polyclinum planum