Correlative anatomy for the esophagus

Because the esophagus is a tubular muscular structure only partially filled with air and surrounded by major structures (vessels, lungs, and heart), its radiologic evaluation cannot be performed solely by conventional chest radiograph or barium studies. The emergence of newer techniques has had a dramatic effect on the use of luminal contrast examinations of the gastrointestinal tract. This article describes the current radiographic techniques for examining the gastrointestinal tract with contrast materials, emphasizing the role of barium suspensions, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging, and illustrating normal anatomy.