Pharynx

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/pharynx

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific classification?Part of the digestive and respiratory systems in vertebrates
2. What is the structural components?Muscular tube with inner longitudinal and outer circular muscle layers
3. What is the pharynx and why is it important?It is a tube behind the nose and mouth that helps us breathe, eat, and talk. It moves food to the stomach and keeps air from going into the lungs.
4. How does the pharynx help us swallow food?Muscles in the pharynx squeeze and push food down. The epiglottis folds over the airway so food doesn't go into the lungs.

Deglutition: The physiological process of swallowing food or liquid.
Aspiration: The entry of foreign material into the airway, potentially causing lung infection.
Phonation: The production of sound by the vocal cords, modified by the pharynx.