deglutition

[French déglutition, from déglutir, to swallow, from Latin dēglūtīre : dē-, de- + glūtīre, to gulp.]

The act of swallowing.

(swallowing), a succession of muscular contractions from above downward or from the front backward; propels food from the mouth toward the stomach. The action is generally initiated at the lips; it proceeds back through the oral cavity, and the food is moved automatically along the dorsum of the tongue. When the food is ready for swallowing, it is passed back through the fauces. Once the food is beyond the fauces and in the pharynx, the soft palate closes off the nasopharynx, and the hyoid bone and larynx are elevated upward and forward. This action keeps food out of the larynx and dilates the esophageal opening so that the food may be passed quickly toward the stomach by peristaltic contractions. The separation between the voluntary and involuntary characteristics of this wave of contractions is not sharply defined. At birth the process is already well established as a highly coordinated activity, that is, the swallowing reflex.

The act of swallowing. There are differences in the mechanism between birds and mammals. Most birds cannot swallow without raising their heads.