Esophagus

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) explains that when you swallow, your tongue pushes the food into your throat, and a small flap of tissue called the epiglottis folds over your windpipe to prevent choking as the food passes into your esophagus. Once you begin swallowing, the process becomes automatic: your brain signals the muscles of the esophagus and peristalsis begins. After you swallow, peristalsis pushes the food down your esophagus into your stomach.

At the end of the esophagus is a ringlike muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter. NIDDK says this sphincter usually stays closed to keep what is in your stomach from flowing back into your esophagus.

Besides GERD, MedlinePlus lists heartburn, a burning feeling in the chest or throat that is often caused by acid reflux; Barrett's esophagus, which happens when the lining of the esophagus changes; achalasia, a problem where the lower muscle in the esophagus doesn't relax like it should; esophageal spasms, muscle contractions that cause chest pain or swallowing problems; and esophageal cancer, which starts in the tissues of the esophagus.

MedlinePlus states: "Get medical help right away if you have chest pain with shortness of breath, or pain in your jaw or arm. These could be signs of a heart problem."

Esófago is a masculine noun: el esófago. The Spanish dictionary marks it as an anatomy term and defines it as the part of the digestive tube that runs from the pharynx to the stomach. MedlinePlus en español defines it as el tubo que transporta los alimentos desde la boca al estómago, and titles its page Enfermedades del esófago. The same page writes cáncer de esófago for esophageal cancer.

Related words on the cited Spanish pages: trouble swallowing is problemas al tragar, with disfagia in parentheses; GERD is reflujo gastroesofágico, abbreviated ERGE; heartburn is acidez; achalasia is acalasia; and esophageal spasms are espasmos esofágicos. The NIDDK Spanish page calls the lower esophageal sphincter el esfínter esofágico inferior and keeps the word peristalsis. For the emergency warning, MedlinePlus en español writes Busque ayuda médica de inmediato.