1 Related Resources Above-Knee Amputation Lower-limb amputation is a surgical procedure performed to remove a limb that has been damaged due to trauma or disease. 2  Find a PT Search our national database of physical therapists.
Food is moved through the pharynx and then enters the esophagus. This is the muscular tube that connects the throat to the stomach. Your esophagus is about 10 inches long, and it acts only as a passageway for food and drink. The esophagus passes behind the airway to the lungs and in front of the spinal column. It pierces the diaphragm before reaching the stomach. Food moves through your esophagus by a wavelike series of muscular contractions called peristalsis.
The mouth is the organ in which the process of digestion begins. It starts the process of mechanical digestion by grinding the food with teeth. Also in the mouth, an enzyme called salivary amylase begins to break down long starch molecules into maltose. Once the food is ready to be swallowed it is gathered into a ball called a bolus and sends to the part of the bolus called the pharynx.