Preferred Label : esophagus;
Uberon definition : Tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach. In mammals, the oesophagus connects
the buccal cavity with the stomach. The stratified squamous non-keratinised epithelium
lining the buccal cavity is continued through the pharynx down into the oesophagus.
The lowest part of the oesophagus (ca. 2 cm) is lined with gastric mucosa and covered
by peritoneum. The main body of the oesophagus is lined with small, simple mucous
glands. Each gland opens into the lumen by a long duct which pierces the muscularis
mucosae (Wilson and Washington, 1989). A sphincter is situated at the point where
the oesophagus enters the stomach to prevent gastro-oesophageal reflux, i.e. to prevent
acidic gastric contents from reaching stratified epithelia of the oesophagus, where
they can cause inflammation and irritation (Wilson and Washington, 1989; Brown et
al., 1993).;
Uberon synonym : gullet; oesophagus;
Uberon Homology note : The few structural specializations in (adult lampreys) pharynx include complex valves
on the external gill openings that direct the tidal flow, and the division of the
ancestral pharynx into an oesophagus and a respiratory pharynx.[well established][VHOG];
Origin ID : 0001043;
UMLS CUI : C0014876;
Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- Semantic type(s)
- UMLS correspondences (same concept)
- Uberon cross reference
- continuous with
- develops from
- has part
- location of
- part of
Tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach. In mammals, the oesophagus connects
the buccal cavity with the stomach. The stratified squamous non-keratinised epithelium
lining the buccal cavity is continued through the pharynx down into the oesophagus.
The lowest part of the oesophagus (ca. 2 cm) is lined with gastric mucosa and covered
by peritoneum. The main body of the oesophagus is lined with small, simple mucous
glands. Each gland opens into the lumen by a long duct which pierces the muscularis
mucosae (Wilson and Washington, 1989). A sphincter is situated at the point where
the oesophagus enters the stomach to prevent gastro-oesophageal reflux, i.e. to prevent
acidic gastric contents from reaching stratified epithelia of the oesophagus, where
they can cause inflammation and irritation (Wilson and Washington, 1989; Brown et
al., 1993).
