Figure 1 - Views of the oral cavity and pharynx.

a: Midline sagittal view. b: Posterior view of the oral cavity and pharynx. In this view, the spinal column has been removed, so that the view is into the pharynx. The esophagus and pharynx have been opened to show the connections of the nasal cavity, oral cavity, larynx, and esophagus into the pharynx. The arrow (b, bottom left) represents the path that food takes through the piriform recesses, which lie on either side of the laryngeal opening.