Bloodletting was one of the most enduring and popular medical practices in history, originated by the Greeks and used up until the 19th century for, well, basically everything. If you were feeling under the weather back in the day there's a good chance it was because you just had too much damn blood.
eÂ·sophÂ·aÂ·gus. n. pl. eÂ·sophÂ·aÂ·gi (-jÄ«â², -gÄ«â²) also oeÂ·sophÂ·aÂ·gi. The muscular tube by which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach; the gullet.
The esophagus is a thin-walled, muscular channel lined with mucous membranes that connects the throat with the stomach. Food and fluids are propelled through the esophagus not only by gravity but also by waves of rhythmic muscular contractions called peristalsis.