title: The relationship between the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to investigate a possible relationship between the duration of the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing are independent from each other but may be related.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used videofluoroscopy to evaluate 30 healthy volunteers between 29 and 77 years of age who swallowed 5- and 10-ml liquid and paste boluses in duplicate. The duration of the oral phase, pharyngeal transit, and pharyngeal clearance were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences in oral or pharyngeal transit times between the liquid and paste boluses or between the volumes of 5 and 10 ml (p > 0.40). The pharyngeal clearance time for the paste bolus (0.48 ± 0.27 s) was longer than for the liquid bolus (0.38 ± 0.11 s, ρ = 0.03) with no difference between the volumes of 5 and 10 ml. There was no significant correlation between the oral transit time and the duration of pharyngeal transit for the liquid (5 ml, Spearman's coefficient ρ: -0.14; 10 ml, ρ: 0.18) or the paste (5 ml, p: 0.08; 10 ml, p: 0.10). The correlation between the oral transit time and the pharyngeal clearance time was not significant for the liquid bolus (5 ml, ρ: 0.31; 10 ml, ρ: 0.18), but it was significant for both the 5 ml (ρ: 0.71) and 10 ml (ρ: 0.64) paste boluses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship between the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing can be affected by bolus consistency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a correlation between the duration of oral transit and the duration of pharyngeal clearance during the swallowing of paste boluses.
authors.affiliation: Clínica Médica - Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rachel Aguiar
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cassiani
authors.forename: Carla Manfredi
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Luana Casari
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Parreira
authors.forename: Roberto Oliveira
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Dantas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000502:physiology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D013997:Time Factors; D014741:Video Recording