Does the Musculus Cricopharyngeus Play a Role in the Genesis of Zenker’s Diverticulum? Enzyme Histochemical and Contractility Properties

Abstract

Different etiological mechanisms have been proposed to explain the genesis of a pharyngoesophageal diverticulum. Mostly these theories postulate disordered function between pharyngeal contraction and cricopharyngeal relaxation [1]. Best known is the theory of the premature cricopharyngeal closure before the bolus can be propelled [4]. All these theories are based on manometric studies [4, 5, 7–12]. But very little is known about the morphological aspects of the cricopharyngeus [2, 3] and to our knowledge no studies on its contractile properties have been published. In order to evaluate the role of the cricopharyngeal muscle during swallowing in normal patients and patients with a Zenker’s diverticulum, the contractile properties of this striated muscle were studied, in an attempt to correlate the contractile properties with the morphological changes between both groups found at histological and enzyme-histochemical examination.