Description
There are three circular constrictor muscles of the pharynx. These are the superior, middle, and inferior constrictor muscles, which overlap each other, like a stack of cups, and insert along the pharyngeal raphe. They extend from the nasopharynx to the esophagus.
In addition to the constrictor muscles, there are three longitudinal muscles of the pharynx: the palatopharyngeus, stylopharyngeus, and salpingopharyngeus muscles. The majority of these muscle fibers sit internal to the constrictors and are lined by the pharyngeal mucosa.
In contrast to the majority of the digestive tract which is composed of involuntary smooth muscle, the pharynx consists of voluntary striated muscle, essential in controlling deglutition (i.e., swallowing) (Moore, Dalley and Agur, 2013).
Related parts of the anatomy
References
Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F. and Agur, A. M. R. (2013) Clinically Oriented Anatomy. Clinically Oriented Anatomy 7th edn.: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
