Esophagus

Oesophagus

Muscular tube carrying food from the pharynx to the stomach, through the neck, the mediastinum and the esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm.

Draft, not yet reviewed by a veterinarian. Content may contain errors. It is published so the community can review it.

This piece is a schematic shape, not a scan: there is no freely licensed model for this structure yet.

3D model of this piece: Vet Atlas procedural organs, CC BY-SA 4.0

Topography

Cervical part: starts dorsal to the cricoid cartilage and runs dorsal to the trachea, shifting to its left side in the caudal half of the neck.
Thoracic part: enters the thorax dorsal and left of the trachea, passes dorsal to the tracheal bifurcation and the heart base, right of the aortic arch, and continues through the caudal mediastinum.
Abdominal part: very short; it crosses the diaphragm through the esophageal hiatus, ventral to the aorta, and opens into the cardia of the stomach.

In the dog the muscular coat is striated along its whole length, which explains its link with neuromuscular diseases.

Megaesophagus: dilation with regurgitation; congenital or acquired (myasthenia gravis, hypoadrenocorticism).
Foreign bodies: lodge at three narrow points: the thoracic inlet, the heart base and the esophageal hiatus.
Vascular ring anomalies: a persistent right aortic arch strangles the esophagus at the heart base and causes regurgitation from weaning.

Schematic shape (illustrative fidelity), placed from landmarks on the skeleton and the scanned organs. It shows topography, not fine morphology.