Virginia-Maryland College

1 month ago | beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Kevin Connolly |Virginia-Maryland College |Krista E. Estell

1 INTRODUCTION Feeding is a complex process involving coordination of alimentary tract structures from the rostral oral cavity to stomach with the concomitant closure of the upper respiratory tract, controlled by voluntary and reflex activity from the central and peripheral nervous system.1, 2 In humans, swallowing is a dominant process over respiration.3 Deglutition (swallowing) can be divided into oral, pharyngeal, and oesophageal phases; failure of one or more phases of this process can...