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.
Cilia pull the food through the mouth in a stream of mucus and through the oesophagus, where it is partially digested by enzymes from a pair of large pharyngeal glands. The oesophagus, in turn, opens into a stomach, where enzymes from a digestive gland complete the breakdown of the food.