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The role of cricopharyngeus muscle in pharyngoesophageal disorders

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Abstract

The cricopharyngeus muscle is generally thought to be responsible for the high pressure zone of the pharyngoesophageal (upper esophageal) sphincter. In this review we critically examined the evidence for the role of the cricopharyngeus muscle in the manometric pharyngoesophageal sphincter. The available studies show disparities between the anatomic location of the cricopharyngeus muscle and the manometric high pressure zone of the pharyngoesophageal sphincter. The cricopharyngeus muscle seems to correspond to the distal 1/3 of the sphineteric high pressure zone and the peak high pressure zone appears to be located proximal to the cricopharyngeus muscle. The discrepancy between the upper high pressure zone and the anatomic cricopharyngeus is important in understanding the role of the cricopharyngeus muscle in the pathophysiology and treatment of clinical disorders of the pharyngoesophageal sphincter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gastroenterology Division, Beth Israel Hospital, 330 Brookline Ave., 02215, Boston, MA, USA

    Raj K. Goyal MD, Sandra B. Martin MS & Stuart J. Spechler MD

  2. Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology, Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Jo Shapiro MD

  3. Center for Swallowing and Motility Disorders Harvard-Thorndike Laboratory, Charles A. Dana Research Institute, USA

    Raj K. Goyal MD, Sandra B. Martin MS, Jo Shapiro MD & Stuart J. Spechler MD

Authors
  1. Raj K. Goyal MD
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  2. Sandra B. Martin MS
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  3. Jo Shapiro MD
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  4. Stuart J. Spechler MD
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Additional information

This work was supported by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Grant DK-31092

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Goyal, R.K., Martin, S.B., Shapiro, J. et al. The role of cricopharyngeus muscle in pharyngoesophageal disorders. Dysphagia 8, 252–258 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01354547

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