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 collapsible muscular tube that serves as a passageway between the pharynx and stomach. As it descends, it is posterior to the trachea and anterior to the vertebral column. It passes through an opening in the diaphragm, called the esophageal hiatus, and then empties into the stomach.