Timing of major events of pharyngeal swallowing.

Normal swallowing depends on the synergistic motion of the tongue, larynx, and pharyngeal wall to develop a bolus pressure gradient for bolus transit. However, few studies have provided timing relationships for clinical evaluations. To examine the timing relationships of pharyngeal anatomic motion, pressure generation, and bolus transit in the normal swallow, this study uses a new method, manofluorography, to correlate these swallowing aspects. Thirty-one events were timed by analyzing five swallows each in 14 normal subjects. A different perspective of pharyngeal physiology is presented.