The Human Aerodigestive Tract and Gastroesophageal Reflux: An Evolutionary Perspective
Section snippets
Comparative Anatomy of the Mammalian Aerodigestive Tract: The Basic Pattern
Before exploring those specializations of the human aerodigestive tract that may be of particular interest to the clinician, it is important to outline the general “plan,” or condition, of this region in mammals. The class Mammalia is, of course, a large and varied group, including terrestrial and aquatic species who exhibit a range of dietary behaviors (e.g., herbivorous, omnivorous, carnivorous). Although no typical mammal can be said to exist, the general “plan” for their aerodigestive
Human Patterns: From the Basic Plan to a Unique Configuration
The aerodigestive tract of adult humans is the end product of both our evolutionary history as well as a unique ontogenetic process. Although all mammals undergo maturation of aerodigestive tract functions,[17]few species appear to undergo as radical a developmental rearrangement of structures in the region as do humans. Indeed, the dramatic changes that occur in the human aerodigestive tract, and the highly specialized end product, are hallmarks of Homo sapiens.
One of the most striking
The Human Aerodigestive Tract and GERD: A Template for Trouble
It is only by placing the adult human aerodigestive tract in the above developmental and comparative contexts that an appreciation can be gleaned of how our derived structural specializations affect both normal and abnormal upper respiratory and upper digestive behaviors. If we are to understand fully the human supraesophageal response to retrograde flow of gastroesophageal contents, we must first see how certain other mammals respond to retrograde incursions into their supraesophagus and, in
Acknowledgements
We wish to express our appreciation to Dr. Reza Shaker both for his invitation to Dr. Laitman to participate in the Symposium on Supra-esophageal Complications of Reflux Disease, and for creating the stimulating and productive environment at the symposium. Components of our research have been funded by Office of Naval Research (ONR) grant N00014-96-1-0764 and NSF Grants 9634519 and 9528100.
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