esophagus

The esophagus is the muscular tube that conveys food from the pharynx at the back of the mouth to the stomach. The esophagus is sometimes called the gullet.

Humans and other vertebrates have an esophagus. The word comes from the Greek word oisophagos, which means gullet, from the roots oisein, meaning to carry, and phagein, meaning to eat. In British English, the spelling is oesophagus. You should always chew your food thoroughly because you don’t want it to get stuck in your esophagus on the way down, unless you’re a heron and can swallow fish whole.