Pharynx

"Just as Kevin took a bite of his hot dog, his friend Peter made a goofy face and it cracked Kevin up. But it's hard to laugh and swallow food at the same time. A piece of the hot dog slipped down Kevin's throat and got stuck. He couldn't talk, he couldn't breathe — he couldn't make any sound at all.

At first Peter thought Kevin couldn't catch his breath because he was laughing so hard. But when Kevin started waving his hands and grabbing at his throat, Peter knew his friend was in trouble. He yelled for help.

A teacher rushed over to Kevin and performed a technique called the Heimlich maneuver (say: hime-lik mah-noo-ver), which caused the hot dog piece to shoot out of Kevin's mouth and land a good 6 feet away. Gross, yes. But that teacher saved Kevin's life."

What connects the mouth to the rest of the organs involved in digestion?

The pharynx connects the buccal cavity to the oesophagus and the larynx (voice box). It is part of the digestive and respiratory system.

Both food and air must pass through the pharynx when they enter the body. Air goes down the trachea and food goes down the oesophagus. How is the food prevented from going down the wrong way?

What would happen if food particles were not forced out of the trachea?