esophagus
noun
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-ˌjī
\
Definition of esophagus
: a muscular tube that conveys food from the mouth to the stomach and that in humans is about nine inches (23 centimeters) long and passes from the pharynx down the neck between the trachea and the spinal column and behind the left bronchus where it pierces the diaphragm slightly to the left of the middle line and joins the cardiac end of the stomach
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Other words from esophagus
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adjective
Examples of esophagus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Drinkers had higher levels of three strains of bacteria linked to disease — including cancers of the head, neck, esophagus and pancreas — and less of a type of bacteria that may protect the body from germs. — Jamie Ducharme, Time, "Heavy Drinking May Change the Bacteria In Your Mouth and Raise Gum Disease Risk," 24 Apr. 2018 From there, the hot dog travels to the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), an involuntary bundle of muscles at the low end of the esophagus that prevents acid from getting into the stomach. — Amy Kraft, CBS News, "How competitive eaters do it – and what it does to them," 4 July 2018 There are multiple types of diverticula that can occur in the upper esophagus. — Colin Huntley, Philly.com, "Medical Mystery: What caused old man's swallowing trouble?," 29 June 2018 These included cancers of the prostate (which declined by an average of 7.6% per year), lung and bronchus (2.4%), larynx (2.3%), colon and rectum (1.9%), esophagus (1.6%), bladder (0.8%) and brain and nervous system (0.2%). — Karen Kaplan, latimes.com, "The death rate from cancer is falling for American men, women and children of all backgrounds," 22 May 2018 For example, Pennsylvania Hospital, which is part of the Penn Medicine system, did many prostate, colon and breast surgeries, but only one or two bladder and esophagus procedures. — Marie Mccullough, Philly.com, "Need cancer surgery in Pennsylvania? New online tool can help with the decision," 3 May 2018 The dog underwent surgery Friday to repair his trachea and esophagus and had been recovering at Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists in Buzzards Bay. — Jacob Carozza, BostonGlobe.com, "Wounded police dog released from hospital," 19 Apr. 2018 Your nasal passages eventually connect to your lungs and your esophagus, so sticking something up there that could get stuck in your nose—or travel further downwards—is a bad idea. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "Just in Case It's Not Obvious, the 'Condom Snorting Challenge' Is a Horrible Idea," 2 Apr. 2018 The next day, Brozinsky advanced the scope down the patient’s esophagus. — Lisa Sanders, New York Times, "Why Did the Young Woman’s Heartburn Keep Getting Worse?," 16 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'esophagus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for esophagus
esophagus
noun
English Language Learners Definition of esophagus
medical : the tube that leads from the mouth through the throat to the stomach
See the full definition for esophagus in the English Language Learners Dictionary
esophagus
noun
\
Kids Definition of esophagus
: a muscular tube that leads from the mouth through the throat to the stomach
esophagus
noun
\
-ˌjī
\
Medical Definition of esophagus
: a muscular tube that in adult humans is about nine inches (23 centimeters) long and passes from the pharynx down the neck between the trachea and the spinal column and behind the left bronchus where it pierces the diaphragm slightly to the left of the middle line and joins the cardiac end of the stomach
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