title: Effect of viscosity on oropharyngeal and esophageal emptying in man.
abstract: The effect of bolus viscosity on oropharyngeal and esophageal emptying is not known. We investigated this question in 38 healthy volunteers by measuring the transit of five semisolid boluses of varying viscosities across the oropharynx and the esophagus with the aid of scintigraphy. The studies were performed twice on consecutive days. The results show that oropharyngeal and esophageal emptying are reliably reproduced from day to day. Esophageal emptying was inversely related to bolus viscosity; however, oropharyngeal emptying was not influenced by bolus viscosity. We conclude that bolus viscosity has significant, but selective, effect on oropharyngoesophageal emptying.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zinsmeister
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D004947:Esophagus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005780:Gelatin; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D010528:Peristalsis / Q000502:physiology; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid; D005780:Gelatin