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Deglutition

Deglutition

Swallowing, otherwise known as deglutition, facilitates the transport of food from the mouth to the stomach. It is a multifaceted process that involves both the tongue and the muscles of the throat and esophagus. Saliva and mucus aid in this process, which takes approximately 4 to 8 seconds for semi-solid or solid food and around 1 second for liquids or very soft food.
Swallowing can be divided into three stages: the voluntary phase, the pharyngeal phase, and the esophageal phase. Although the...

Physiology of the Gastrointestinal System I: Ingestion and Propulsion

Physiology of the Gastrointestinal System I: Ingestion and Propulsion

The physiology of the gastrointestinal system begins with ingestion as food enters the mouth.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

Adapting Human Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study Methods to Detect and Characterize Dysphagia in Murine Disease Models

Adapting Human Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study Methods to Detect and Characterize Dysphagia in Murine Disease Models

Published on: March 1, 2015

Temporal variability in the deglutition literature.

Sonja M Molfenter¹, Catriona M Steele

¹Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 550 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada. molfenter.sonja@torontorehab.on.ca

|February 28, 2012

Summary

This review of swallowing temporal measures found significant variability in 119 parameters across 46 studies. Upper esophageal sphincter opening duration and the interval from laryngeal closure to UES opening showed the least variability.

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Area of Science:

Physiology
Biomechanics
Clinical Swallowing Analysis

Background:

Swallowing involves complex temporal coordination.
Understanding temporal variability is crucial for accurate clinical assessment.
Existing literature presents numerous temporal swallowing measures.

Purpose of the Study:

To systematically review and quantify variability in temporal swallowing measures.
To identify the most frequently reported temporal parameters.
To assess consistency in measurement definitions and outcomes across studies.

Main Methods:

Literature search for studies on temporal swallowing measures in healthy adults.
Inclusion of 46 studies for meta-analysis.
Compilation and analysis of 119 distinct temporal parameters, including durations and intervals.

Main Results:

Identified upper esophageal sphincter opening, laryngeal closure, and hyoid movement as frequent durational measures.
Found stage transition duration, pharyngeal transit time, and laryngeal closure-to-UES opening interval as common interval measures.
Determined that UES opening duration and the laryngeal closure-to-UES opening interval exhibited the least variability.

Conclusions:

Significant variability exists in reported temporal swallowing measures, complicating direct comparisons.
Specific parameters like UES opening duration show higher reliability.
Factors such as bolus size and participant age may influence temporal swallowing dynamics.