Read article The oesophagus (food pipe)
This page tells you about the food pipe (oesophagus). You can find out
The oesophagus (food pipe)
The oesophagus or food pipe is part of the digestive system. It is also sometimes called the gullet. It is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. The oesophagus is about 26cm (10.5 inches) long in adults. As it passes through the chest, on its way to the stomach, it lies between the windpipe (trachea) and spinal cord.
Glands in the wall of the oesophagus produce mucus to help food to slide down more easily when you swallow. It is the cells of these glands that become cancerous in adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus.
The lymph nodes
Like all other parts of the body, the area containing the oesophagus also contains lymph nodes. These are also called lymph glands. The lymph nodes are often the first place that cancer cells spread to when they break away from a tumour. So surgeons often remove them during cancer surgery and send them off to the lab. A pathologist examines them to see if they contain any cancer cells.
The presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes is part of the staging of the cancer. The stage is important because it helps the doctor to decide which is the most suitable treatment for you.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the about oesophageal cancer section.
The oesophagus or food pipe is part of the digestive system. It is also sometimes called the gullet. It is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. It is about 26cm (10.5 inches) long in adults. As it passes through the chest, on its way to the stomach, it lies between the windpipe (trachea) and spinal cord.
The oesophagus has three main sections - the upper, middle and lower. Cancer can develop anywhere along the length of the oesophagus. The wall of the oesophagus has three layers of muscle, called the mucosa, submucosa and muscularis. These muscles help to push food down towards the stomach when you swallow. The mucosa is the innermost muscle layer. It is covered with a skin like lining on the inside of the oesophagus.
The oesophagus joins to the top part of the stomach (called the cardia). This is called the gastro oesophageal junction. There is a valve here that helps to keep the stomach contents from coming back up into the oesophagus. The valve is called the cardiac sphincter.
The oesophagus carries food and liquid to the stomach with waves of muscle contractions. Glands in the wall of the oesophagus produce mucus to help food to slide down more easily when you swallow. It is the cells of these glands that become cancerous in adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus.
Like all other parts of the body, the area containing the oesophagus also contains lymph nodes. These are also called lymph glands. They are small bean shaped glands that are part of the lymphatic system. They help to control infection by filtering foreign material out of the blood and lymphatic fluid, including bacteria and viruses.
The lymph nodes are often the first place that cancer cells spread to when they break away from a tumour. So surgeons often remove them during cancer surgery and send them off to the lab. There, a pathologist examines them closely to see if they contain any cancer cells. The presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes is part of the staging of the cancer. The stage is important because it helps the doctor to decide which is the most suitable treatment.
There is more about the lymph glands and what the lymphatic system does in the about your body section.
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