pharynx

The pharynx is the body’s shared hallway between the nose, mouth, voice box and gullet — what most people simply call the throat. Both the air you breathe and the food you swallow pass through this muscular tube, which then routes them to different destinations.

Anatomists divide it into three floors: the nasopharynx behind the nose, the oropharynx behind the mouth, and the laryngopharynx (hypopharynx) leading down to the larynx and oesophagus. Because air and food cross paths here, a flap of cartilage called the epiglottis tips over the airway during swallowing to keep food out of the lungs.

When this crossroads is narrowed or its muscles relax too much — as during sleep — the airway can vibrate (snoring) or collapse. The pharynx is therefore central to conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, and it is the part of the throat swabbed when testing for strep or some respiratory infections.