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Anatomy and Embryology of the Esophagus

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Esophageal Preservation and Replacement in Children

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Abstract

Thorough knowledge of the esophagus and its relationship to surrounding structures is of utmost importance to the practitioner in order to adequately treat disease processes and not cause undue injury during surgery. Additionally, knowledge of the embryologic development of this organ aids our understanding of how pathologies develop and manifest themselves clinically. In this chapter, we first review the anatomy of the esophagus and its relationship to critical structures from a surgical perspective. We then review the current depth of investigative research as it pertains to how the esophagus develops in utero, including separation of the embryonic foregut into the esophagus and trachea, development of a stratified squamous epithelium, and development of the outer smooth muscle layer, including transition of its proximal end from smooth muscle to striated muscle.

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Abbreviations

aPKC:

Atypical protein kinase C

BARX1:

BARX homeobox 1 gene

Foxf1 :

Forkhead box protein F1, a transcription factor

Foxp1/2:

Forkhead box protein 1 and 2

GLI:

Gene (Gli proteins are transcription factors)

K5, K8, K14:

Keratin 5, 8, 14, proteins

Myf5:

Myogenic factor five, protein

MyoD:

Myoblast determination protein 1

Nkx2.1:

Homeobox protein

Noggin:

Protein

P63:

Tumor protein 63

Pax7:

Paired box protein, transcription factor

Rab11:

Ras-related protein 11, part of GTPase superfamily

Sox2:

Transcription factor

Tbx1:

T-box transcription factor 1

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Alicia Menchaca

  2. Department of Pediatric Surgery, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA

    Oluyinka O. Olutoye

Authors
  1. Alicia Menchaca
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  2. Oluyinka O. Olutoye
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oluyinka O. Olutoye .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of surgery and Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marshfield Children’s Hospital, Marshfield, WI, USA

    Ashwin Pimpalwar

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Menchaca, A., Olutoye, O.O. (2021). Anatomy and Embryology of the Esophagus. In: Pimpalwar, A. (eds) Esophageal Preservation and Replacement in Children. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77098-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77098-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-77097-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-77098-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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