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Inferior pharyngeal constrictor: anatomy, location and function

The lowest of the three constrictors of the pharynx. Constricts the lower pharynx during swallowing to push food into the esophagus.

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Highlighted in the model: Inferior pharyngeal constrictor. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Inferior pharyngeal constrictor at a glance

What it is
The lowest of the three constrictors of the pharynx.
Location
Origin: oblique line of the thyroid cartilage and the cricoid cartilage. Insertion: pharyngeal raphe at the back of the pharynx.
Function
Constricts the lower pharynx during swallowing to push food into the esophagus.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA46636 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: pharyngeal plexus (vagus nerve, CN X), with external and recurrent laryngeal nerves
  • Its lowest part is the cricopharyngeus (upper esophageal sphincter)

Clinical relevance

A pharyngeal pouch (Zenker diverticulum) forms through a weak area above cricopharyngeus.

Structures next to the inferior pharyngeal constrictor

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Inferior pharyngeal constrictor (FMA46636). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.